Cast
The West Wing employed a broad ensemble cast to portray the many positions involved in the daily work of the US federal government. The President, the First Lady, and the President's senior staff and advisers form the core cast. Numerous secondary characters, appearing intermittently, complement storylines that generally revolve around this core group.
The columns in the table below are broken out as an approximation of the cast roles associated with the "President," which shifted over the years.
| Actor/Actress | Character | Original position (Bartlet era) | Subsequent positions held (Bartlet era) | Position at series end (Santos era) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Sheen | Josiah "Jed" Bartlet | President of the United States | ||
| John Spencer | Leo McGarry | Chief of Staff (Seasons 1–6) | Counselor to the President (Season 6)/Democratic Candidate for Vice President (Season 7) | |
| Bradley Whitford | Josh Lyman | Deputy Chief of Staff (Seasons 1–6) | Santos for President Campaign Manager (Seasons 6–7) | White House Chief of Staff |
| Allison Janney | Claudia Jean "C.J." Cregg | Press Secretary (Seasons 1–6) | Chief of Staff (Seasons 6–7) | |
| Richard Schiff | Toby Ziegler | Communications Director | ||
| Rob Lowe | Sam Seaborn | Deputy Communications Director (Seasons 1–4) | Deputy White House Chief of Staff | |
| Joshua Malina | Will Bailey | Deputy Communications Director (Seasons 4–5) | Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States Bob Russell (Seasons 5–7) White House Communications Director (Season 7) |
Congressman from Oregon |
| Dulé Hill | Charlie Young | Personal Aide to the President (Seasons 1–6) | Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff (Seasons 6–7) | |
| Janel Moloney | Donna Moss | Senior Assistant to Josh Lyman (Seasons 1–6) | Russell Campaign Spokeswoman/Santos Campaign Spokeswoman (Seasons 6–7) | Chief of Staff to the First Lady |
| Stockard Channing | Abigail Bartlet | First Lady | ||
| Moira Kelly | Mandy Hampton | White House Media Consultant (Season 1) | ||
| Mary McCormack | Kate Harper | Deputy National Security Advisor (Seasons 5–7) | ||
| Kristin Chenoweth | Annabeth Schott | Deputy Press Secretary (Season 6) | Santos for President campaign team, assistant to the Vice Presidential Candidate (Season 7) | Press Secretary to the First Lady |
| Jimmy Smits | Matt Santos | Congressman from Texas (Season 6) | Democratic candidate for President (Seasons 6–7) | President of the United States |
| Alan Alda | Arnold Vinick | Senator from California (Season 6) | Republican candidate for President (Seasons 6–7) | Secretary of State |
Each of the principal actors made approximately $75,000 an episode, with Sheen's most recently confirmed salary being $300,000. Rob Lowe also had a six-figure salary, reported to be $100,000, because his character originally was supposed to have a more central role. Disparities in cast salaries led to very public contract disputes, particularly by Janney, Schiff, Spencer, and Whitford. During contract negotiations in 2001, the four were threatened with breach of contract suits by Warner Bros. However, by banding together, they were able to persuade the studio to more than double their salaries. Two years later, the four again demanded a doubling of their salaries, a few months after Warner Bros had signed new licensing deals with NBC and Bravo.
John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry, died from a heart attack on December 16, 2005, about a year after his character experienced a nearly fatal heart attack on the show. A brief memorial message from Martin Sheen was broadcast before "Running Mates", the first new episode that aired after Spencer's death. The loss of Spencer's character was addressed beginning with the episode "Election Day", which aired on April 2, 2006.
In an interview on the Season 1 DVD, Bradley Whitford said that he was originally cast as Sam, even though Aaron Sorkin had created the Josh character specifically for him. In the same interview, Janel Moloney stated she had originally auditioned for the role of C.J. and that Donna, the role for which she was eventually cast, was not meant to be a recurring character. Other actors were seriously considered for other roles, including Alan Alda and Sidney Poitier for the president, Judd Hirsch for Leo, Eugene Levy for Toby, and CCH Pounder for C.J.
Read more about this topic: The West Wing (TV Series)
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