Since Jerry Orbach left "Law & Order" last year several months before his death, he is easily its best actor. In my opinion, he and Steven Hill were the only actors on the series who could even hold their salt to Orbach.

Waterston...
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Since Jerry Orbach left "Law & Order" last year several months before his death, he is easily its best actor. In my opinion, he and Steven Hill were the only actors on the series who could even hold their salt to Orbach.

Waterston is simply excellent as the rather unconventional prosecutor Jack McCoy and is far better than his predecessor, Michael Moriarty, who played Ben Stone. He is far more ruthless, but in a good way, and I love the way he often bends, but never breaks, the rules to get a conviction. This makes him a far more compelling, interesting and unpredictable compared to Stone who was fairly conventional in terms of his prosecution style. It is easy to see why he was held in contempt several times.

Some of his lines rival Orbach's such as "So you're not a psychologist, you just play one on the radio?" Classic line that made me laugh out loud and just goes to show you his unconventional style as he more or less mocking a witness.

Easily the second greatest actor in the show's history. It is easy to see why he was Oscar nominated for Best Actor. I just hope he stays with it until it ends. Him leaving would be its death knell without a doubt.