User:Theleekycauldron/Drafts/List of The West Wing characters
The television series The West Wing is a political drama series which was originally broadcast on NBC.
During its seven seasons, the ensemble cast of stars, recurring stars and guest stars earned 157 acting nominations (often competing in the same category against other members of the cast) across a variety of award-granting organizations, earning 30 awards. Many actors noted for work in sitcoms appeared in dramatic roles on The West Wing, including John Goodman, Alan Alda, John Larroquette, Christopher Lloyd, Ed O'Neill, Matthew Perry, Patricia Richardson, and Lily Tomlin.
Cast
Cast Table
- = Main cast (credited)
- = Recurring cast (2+)
Character | Actor | Seasons | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Reunion Special | ||
Sam Seaborn | Rob Lowe | Main | Recurring | Main | |||||
Mandy Hampton | Moira Kelly | Main | |||||||
Charlie Young | Dulé Hill | Main | |||||||
C. J. Cregg | Allison Janney | Main | |||||||
Toby Ziegler | Richard Schiff | Main | |||||||
Leo McGarry | John Spencer | Main | |||||||
Sterling K. Brown | Main | ||||||||
Josh Lyman | Bradley Whitford | Main | |||||||
Jed Bartlet | Martin Sheen | Main | |||||||
Donna Moss | Janel Moloney | Recurring | Main | ||||||
Abbey Bartlet | Stockard Channing | Recurring | Main | ||||||
Will Bailey | Joshua Malina | Main | |||||||
Kate Harper | Mary McCormack | Recurring | Main | ||||||
Matt Santos | Jimmy Smits | Main | |||||||
Arnold Vinick | Alan Alda | Main | |||||||
Annabeth Schott | Kristin Chenoweth | Recurring | Main |
Main characters
Jed Bartlet
Matt Santos
Arnold Vinick
Leo McGarry
C. J. Cregg
Claudia Jean Cregg, played by Allison Janney, was the White House Press Secretary from the series pilot until the sixth season.[1] She was then promoted to White House Chief of Staff, serving in this role until the series finale inaugurated Matt Santos as president.[2][3] It has been speculated that the character was based to some extent off of Dee Dee Myers, who served as the White House Press Secretary to Bill Clinton and as a consultant on The West Wing[4] – Sorkin, however, has denied this notion.[5]
Josh Lyman
Toby Ziegler
Sam Seaborn
Mandy Hampton
Charlie Young
Donna Moss
Will Bailey
Abbey Bartlet
Kate Harper
Annabeth Schott
Recurring characters
Introduced in season one
Mrs. Landingham
Dolores Landingham, played primarily by Kathryn Joosten, is Jed Bartlet's personal secretary in the first two seasons. Rather than playing a central political role, Mrs. Landingham often served as guidance for other characters, grounding them in the show's reality to remind the characters "who they should be working for".[6]
She was killed off in the second-season episode "18th and Potomac", but reappeared for multiple flashbacks afterwards.
Lord John Marbury
I am John, Lord Marbury, Earl of Croy, Marquess of Needham and Dolby, Baronet of Brycey, England's Ambassador to the United States, and a terrorist is a terrorist even if he wears a green necktie and sings "Danny Boy." Yes, you can call me John.
Margaret Hooper
Percy Fitzwallace
Ed and Larry
John Hoynes
Danny Concannon
Mallory O'Brien
Andy Wyatt
Zoey Bartlet
Laurie
Roberto Mendoza
Introduced in season two
Lionel Tribbey
Ainsley Hayes
Nancy McNally
Mark Godfrey
Introduced in season three
Amy Gardner
Cliff Calley
Oliver Babish
Howard Stackhouse
Robert Ritchie
Simon Donovan
Introduced in season four
Debbie Fiderer
Glenn Allen Walken
Bruno Gianelli
Introduced in season five
Joe Quincy
Taylor Reid
Liz Westin
Introduced in season six
Helen Santos
Ray Sullivan
Introduced in season seven
Vic Faison
Sheila Brooks
Jane Braun
Guest characters
Introduced in season one
Morris Tolliver
Morris Tolliver is the president's physician. He appears only in "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc", the second episode of the first season. The president is trusting and fond of Morris throughout the episode; when Bartlet expresses worry about interacting with his military advisors, Tolliver comforts him.[7] At the end of the episode, Leo tells the president that a plane carrying Morris to a humanitarian mission in Amman exploded in midair, destroyed by a missile launched on the order of the Syrian Defense Ministry.[7] This creates the events of the next episode, "A Proportional Response", in which an angry and grieving Bartlet has to be talked out of drastic retaliation measures for the attack.[8][9]
Gail
Gail is a goldfish, given as a gift from Danny to C. J. in the first season. Danny, after being told by Josh that C. J. liked goldfish, bought Gail for C. J. without realizing that Josh was referring to a cracker brand with the same name.[10] Gail made numerous reappearances throughout the show, sporting various contextually significant decorations in her fishbowl. Sorkin donated Gail's fishbowl to the National Museum of American History, along with the Christmas tree shown in the first season episode "In Excelsis Deo".[11]
Introduced in season two
Josephine McGarry
Dr. Bartlet
Bernard Thatch
Ann Stark
Stanley Keyworth
Millie Griffith
Mike Casper
Introduced in season three
Will Sawyer
Jordon Kendall
Tabitha Fortis
Albie Duncan
Introduced in season four
Talmidge Cregg
Jean Paul
Jack Reese
Introduced in season five
Angela Blake
Colin Ayres
Introduced in season six
Greg Brock
Introduced in season seven
See also
References
- ^ Finn 2003, p. 114.
- ^ Shister, Gail (November 4, 2004). "Hail to the new chief of staff on 'The West Wing'". Orlando Sentinel. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Gilbert, Matthew (May 16, 2006). "'West Wing' exits with dignity". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Crawley 2006, pp. 123, 203.
- ^ Waxman 2003, p. 204.
- ^ Bauder, David (June 13, 2001). "Fans still mourning Mrs. Landingham". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ a b Fahy 2005, p. 196.
- ^ McCabe, Janet; Akass, Kim (2007). Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 9780857731708.
- ^ Fahy 2005, p. 196-197.
- ^ Webster 2020, p. 65.
- ^ BredenbeckCorp, Hannah (January 19, 2017). "Why does the Smithsonian have objects from a fake presidency on "The West Wing?"". National Museum of American History. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
Works cited
- Webster, Patrick (2020). Windows Into The West Wing. MacFarland. ISBN 9781476639369.
- Fahy, Thomas (2005). Considering Aaron Sorkin. MacFarland. ISBN 9780786421206.
- Finn, Patrick (2003). "The West Wing's Textual President". In Rollins, Peter C. (ed.). The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815651833.
- Crawley, Melissa (2006). Mr. Sorkin Goes to Washington: Shaping the President on Television's The West Wing. McFarland Press. ISBN 9780786424399.
- Waxman, Sharon (2003). "Inside The West Wing's New World". In Rollins, Peter C. (ed.). The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815651833.
Category:Lists of American television series characters
Category:Lists of drama television characters