A Law & Order Icon Played Oppenheimer In A Miniseries Decades Before Christopher Nolan's Movie

Christopher Nolan's 2023 biopic "Oppenheimer" was such a refreshing outlier in the world of blockbusters. Made for $100 million, the film unexpectedly made almost a billion dollars at the box office, startling everyone. This was rare, as Nolan's film was no crowd-pleasing action spectacular, but a biopic, and an incredibly downbeat and heady one at that. It dealt with the bleak morals of inventing a device that can destroy all life and the petty egos of the men who would rather bicker about security clearances than face those morals. Cillian Murphy won an Academy Award for playing J. Robert Oppenheimer, and the film won Best Picture. It was a hit largely because it came out the same day as Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," and many audiences rushed to make it an ironic double feature. 

It was also likely a hit because the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer has fascinated people since the 1940s. The explosion of the nuclear bomb was a moment of moral reckoning for humanity, the moment when we realized that we had given ourselves access to our own extinction. Did Oppenheimer or any of the other scientists at Los Alamos pause to consider the actual ramifications of what they were doing? By the measure of Nolan's film, and the 2005 book "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" on which it was based, the scientists (—) to quote "Jurassic Park" (—) were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

Indeed, the Oppenheimer story was so interesting that it had been told on film before. In 1980, the BBC produced a seven-episode miniseries called "Oppenheimer," which covered the title scientist's life from his development of the nuclear bomb to the stripping of his security clearance by the U.S. government in 1954. Fans of "Law & Order" will be pleased to see a young Sam Waterston in the title role. 

Waterston's most visible acting role is that of District Attorney Jack McCoy on "Law & Order," a role he played from 1994 through 2010, and then reprised in 2022 through 2024. But the 84-year-old actor has been working steadily on stage and screen since the 1960s. Waterston made his Broadway debut in 1962, starring in a production of "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad," and appearing in Shakespeare's "As You Like It" the following year. He appeared in his first feature film, "The Plastic Dome of Norma Jean," in 1965, and appeared in two episodes of "Dr. Kildare" that same year. 

After that, his credits continued to accumulate, and his profile continued to rise. In the 1970s, Waterston appeared in acclaimed feature films like "Interiors," "Capricorn One," and "Rancho Deluxe." He played the young Nick in Jack Clayton's not-very-good 1974 adaptation of "The Great Gatsby." On the small screen, he stuck to TV movies, including playing Benedick in an adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing." Waterston is versatile, ambitious, and has the talent to land a lot of interesting work. 

In 1980, he landed the role of Oppenheimer in the BBC miniseries that bore the scientist's name. His performance netted him a BAFTA Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination. He starred opposite a large ensemble of British actors playing famous scientists. Eventual Sherlock Holmes Edward Hardwicke played Enrico Fermi (played by Danny Deferrari in Nolan's film), and eventual Hercule Poirot David Suchet played Edward Teller (played by Benny Safdie in Nolan's film). 

The series was produced and conceived by Peter Goodchild, who spoke with Variety in 2023 about his project. He had been dreaming of making "Oppenheimer" since the 1970s, having seen a play about J. Robert Oppenheimer performed way back in 1966. Goodchild was a radio impresario for many years, but eventually moved to making educational documentaries (specifically for the long-running documentary series "Horizon"), as he was always possessed of a keen interest in the sciences. It helped that he had an advanced degree in chemistry. Goodchild kind of blended his science and screenwriting interests throughout the '70s, making fictionalized dramas about Marie Curie and other notable scientific minds. 

Oppenheimer's life was ripe for adaptation, and Goodchild was happy to be the one to do the adapting. He said: 

"Someone suddenly presented me with a book about Oppenheimer and his relationship with one of his other scientific colleagues, which was an excellent story. I said, 'I'd love to take it further.' And we did."

The "Oppenheimer" miniseries was directed by Barry Davis and written by Peter Prince, the novelist who wrote "Play Things." Prince also wrote the book "The Good Father," which was adapted into a Mike Newell-directed, Anthony Hopkins-starring feature film in 1985. 

Waterston gave a great performance. Waterston would go on to be nominated for an Oscar for his performance in "The Killing Fields," and would work with Woody Allen multiple times. He also made films with Oliver Stone, John Waters, and Merchant/Ivory. Jack McCoy may be his most visible role, but his career is towering an impressive even without "Law & Order."