‘The West Wing’ turns 25! See the cast then and now

Martin Sheen (Josiah “Jed” Bartlet)

Martin Sheen played President Jed Bartlet, the hopeful and idealistic leader of the free world with a gift for inspiring monologues. He earned six Emmy nominations during his term in office as President Bartlet.

Sheen had a seven-year run as a fictional president but had no interest in life imitating art. “A lot of people were encouraging me to get into political life, but I had to remind them, you can’t misinterpret reality for fantasy. I’m an actor. I’m playing a president,” he told EW in 2020. “I’ve played a lot of different characters. This one struck a chord in the American culture, which is very, very gratifying, but you can’t misinterpret an entertainment value for a public service.”

Sheen’s early works include a small part in the 1970 Catch-22 adaptation and playing outlaw lovers alongside Sissy Spacek in Terrence Malick’s Badlands (1973). His lead role in the Vietnam epic Apocalypse Now (1979) remains a career high point. Years before occupying the Oval Office, he was a vile politician with presidential ambitions in David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone (1983) and also appeared in Gandhi (1982) and Wall Street (1987). His role as White House Chief of Staff in The American President (1995) was a suitable step toward assuming the top job on The West Wing.

With that great power came the great responsibility of playing Uncle Ben in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Among his other elder statesman roles are Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Departed (2006), and Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) as J. Edgar Hoover. He also portrayed Grace’s ex-husband Robert on Netflix’s Grace and Frankie (2015–2022).

Sheen married Janet Templeton in 1961. Their four children are all actors: Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Ramón Estevez, and Renée Estevez.

Bradley Whitford (Josh Lyman)

Bradley Whitford won an Emmy for playing Josh Lyman, the witty deputy White House chief of staff. 

Reflecting on the challenge of delivering Sorkin’s walk-and-talks in a Variety interview, Whitford recalled: “It was something that taught me that — just learn your lines as fast as you can… After I had them memorized I would do endless repetitions of it because you had to get it subconscious, so that technical aspect of the performance was removed and then your blood can flow.”

This wasn’t Whitford’s first (or last) brush with Sorkin; he made his Broadway debut in a 1990 production of A Few Good Men, a Sorkin-penned play that was later adapted into the 1992 film. Once The West Wing concluded, Whitford also starred in the West Wing creator’s backstage showbiz dramedy Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007).

On the big screen, many remember Whitford from Billy Madison (1995). In more recent years he’s booked roles in the meta-horror film The Cabin in the Woods (2011), Steven Spielberg’s The Post (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and, of course, as the secretly not-so-nice dad in Get Out (2017). On television, he won Emmys for Transparent (2014–2019) and The Handmaid’s Tale (2018–present). 

Whitford tied the knot with actress Jane Kaczmarek in 1992, but the pair divorced in 2010. Their three children are Mary, Frances, and George. In 2019, Whitford married his Transparent costar, Amy Landecker.

John Spencer (Leo McGarry)

John Spencer played Leo McGarry, President Bartlet’s chief of staff and a confirmed workaholic.

After many years of work predominantly on stage, Spencer landed the role of streetwise attorney Tommy Mullaney on L.A. Law (1990–1994). He later secured key supporting parts in films like Presumed Innocent (1990) and The Rock (1996).

Spencer died of a heart attack in 2005, partway through filming the seventh and final season of The West Wing. His death was incorporated into the show, with his character dying offscreen of heart failure on election night.

Allison Janney (C.J. Cregg)

Allison Janney won four Emmys for playing C.J. Cregg, the sharp and dedicated White House press secretary.

Janney still feels a connection with C.J. “She’s a wonderful character who is not afraid to speak truth to power, and is a woman in a traditionally male-populated arena in the White House, and she was given the president’s ear,” she told EW in 2020. “It’s a great role to champion women. Whenever I’m asked, she’s the one I most want to be like and the most I’m not like.”

The veteran actress won another Emmy for Masters of Sex (2013–2015) and two more as recovering alcoholic Bonnie Plunkett on the CBS sitcom Mom (2013–2021). All the while, she’s maintained a thriving big-screen career, including her Oscar-winning performance as Tonya Harding’s chain-smoking, tough-love mother in I, Tonya (2017). She has also appeared in American Beauty (1999), Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), The Hours (2002), Juno (2007), and Spy (2015), among many other films.

Rob Lowe (Sam Seaborn)

Rob Lowe played Sam Seaborn, the deputy communications director. Lowe left the show in season 4 because he felt “undervalued.” 

Lowe was a Brat Pack A-lister in the mid-’80s, starring in The Outsiders (1983), St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), and About Last Night (1986), although a 1988 sex tape scandal took the shine off his star for a while. He made a comedic heel turn in Wayne’s World (1992) and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) before his career truly rebounded with The West Wing.

He has been a mainstay on the small screen ever since, from Brothers & Sisters (2006–2010) to Parks and Recreation (2010–2015), Code Black (2016–2018), and currently 9-1-1: Lone Star (2020–present).

Lowe has been married to makeup artist Sheryl Berkoff since 1991; they share two sons, Matthew and John.

Richard Schiff (Toby Ziegler)

Richard Schiff played Toby Ziegler, the grouchy but lovable communications director. 

Schiff is proud of his work on The West Wing, but he objected to his character leaking classified information and losing his job in the final season. “Clearly [the producers] didn’t want to tell me [the storyline] because they were scared of my reaction to it,” he told EW in 2014. “I would have talked them out of it because it was not in line with the six years of work that I built with that character. I was very, very hurt by it.”

Schiff’s early work includes roles in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Deep Impact (1998), and as John Doe’s attorney in Se7en (1995), but playing Toby was his breakthrough. Since The West Wing, the actor had recurring parts in House of Lies (2012–2016), Ballers (2015–2019), The Affair (2015–2019), and Counterpart (2018–2019), as well as his lead role on the medical drama The Good Doctor (2017–2024). He was also in both in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) and Man of Steel (2013). 

Schiff married actress Sheila Kelley in 1996. She played his on-screen wife, Debbie, in The Good Doctor, and their daughter Ruby played Hannah in the show’s final season.

Dulé Hill (Charlie Young)

Dulé Hill received an Emmy nomination for his breakout role as Charlie Young, President Bartlet’s devoted personal aide. 

Hill chose to leave The West Wing early in season 7 to shoot the pilot for the detective comedy Psych (2006–2014), but he returned for the series’ last few episodes. After Psych’s eight-season run, Hill had a recurring role on HBO’s sports comedy Ballers (2015–2017) and was a regular on Suits (2017–2019) for its last two seasons. Recently, he starred as the father on ABC’s remake of the nostalgic coming-of-age dramedy The Wonder Years (2021–2023). 

Hill wed actress Nicole Lyn in 2004, but they split up in 2012. He married his Ballers costar Jazmyn Simon in 2018 and adopted her daughter. They also have a son, Levi.

Janel Moloney (Donna Moss)

Janel Moloney played Donna Moss, Josh’s senior assistant who later serves in the Santos administration. 

The character was not originally planned as a regular; Donna only had two lines in the pilot, but Moloney was determined to earn a spot on the show. “Aaron and Tommy [Schlamme] knew very well that they were not going to get rid of me,” she told EW in 2020. “So I made every morsel — I didn’t care if Brad [Whitford] was handing me a piece of paper and I had no lines. I was making a choice, I was making it about something, I was throwing a detail in there. There was no way anyone was gonna send my ass home. That was my goal.”

Moloney also appeared on HBO’s acclaimed drama The Leftovers (2014–2017) as Christopher Eccleston’s wife Mary. Her other TV work includes recurring roles on Alpha House (2014), American Crime (2017), and Law & Order: Organized Crime (2022).

Moloney and composer Marcelo Zarvos have been married since 2010 and have two sons, Julius and Fernando.

Stockard Channing (Abbey Bartlet)

Stockard Channing earned six Emmy nominations and one win as Abbey Bartlet, the First Lady who keeps her husband’s medical condition a secret. 

Channing is well-remembered as Pink Lady ring-leader Rizzo in the high school musical Grease (1978) and later earned an Oscar nomination for the eat-the-rich satire Six Degrees of Separation (1993). She has also garnered praise for The Business of Strangers (2001) and Practical Magic (1998). On the small screen, she won another Emmy for The Matthew Shepard Story (2002) and had a recurring role on The Good Wife (2012–2016).

Channing has been married and divorced four times, to Walter Channing Jr. (1963–1967), professor Paul Schmidt (1970–1976), writer-producer David Debin (1976–1980), and businessman David Rawle (1980–1988). She has no children.

Moira Kelly (Mandy Hampton)

Moira Kelly played Mandy Hampton, a political consultant to Bartlet who exits after season 1. 

Before joining The West Wing, Kelly took over for Lara Flynn Boyle as Donna Hayward in David Lynch’s prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) and voiced Nala in Disney’s The Lion King (1994). She also appeared in James Gray’s Little Odessa (1994) and sought Olympic gold in The Cutting Edge (1992). Later in her career, she was a regular on One Tree Hill (2003–2009).

Kelly has been married to businessman Steve Hewitt since 2000. They have a daughter, Ella, and son, Eamon.

Joshua Malina (Will Bailey)

Joshua Malina played Will Bailey, who joined The West Wing cast in season 4 as a speechwriter.

Malina has appeared in many Aaron Sorkin projects, starting with the original Broadway production of A Few Good Men. He played a small role in the Sorkin-penned political rom-com The American President (1995) with Martin Sheen and was in the primary cast of Sports Night (1998–2000). 

The West Wing ended after seven seasons, but Malina wasn’t done with fictional politics, going on to play U.S. Attorney General David Rosen in Scandal (2012–2018). He also had recurring roles in The Big Bang Theory (2011–2019) and the final season of Showtime’s Shameless (2020–2021). 

Malina married costume designer Melissa Merwin in 1996; the couple announced their divorce in August 2024. They share two children, Isabel and Avi.

Mary McCormack (Kate Harper)

Mary McCormack played Kate Harper, the deputy national security advisor in the show’s final two seasons.

McCormack’s first starring role was on the legal drama Murder One (1995–1997). She later appeared in HBO’s D.C.-set drama K Street (2003), making her transition to The West Wing a natural one. 

After The West Wing, McCormack got a show of her own, starring as deputy U.S. Marshal Mary Shannon in USA’s In Plain Sight (2008–2012). Since appearing in two episodes of Sorkin’s The Newsroom (2014), she has landed roles on The Kids Are Alright (2018–2019) and the wrestling drama Heels (2021–2023). Her big-screen work includes Private Parts (1997), Deep Impact (1998) with West Wing costar Richard Schiff, and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003).

McCormack married director-producer Michael Morris in 2003. They have three children: Margaret, Rose, and Lillian.

Jimmy Smits (Matt Santos)

Jimmy Smits played Matt Santos, a congressman who eventually succeeds President Bartlet in the White House.

Smits first became known for his Emmy-winning performance as Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law (1986–1992). After his exit, he joined NYPD Blue (1994–1998). The actor has been a constant presence on the small screen, from Dexter (2008) to Sons of Anarchy (2012–2014). He’s had a recurring role in the Star Wars franchise as Senator Bail Organa since first showing up in Attack of the Clones (2002) and also appeared in the film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights (2021). 

Smits was married to Barbara Smits from 1981 to 1987. They have two children, Taina and Joaquin.

Alan Alda (Arnold Vinick)

Alan Alda earned an Emmy for playing Arnold Vinick, a California senator who runs against Santos in the general election.  

Alda’s role as Hawkeye Pierce in the Korean War sitcom M*A*S*H (1972–1983) made him a TV legend, bringing him five Emmy wins and 21 nominations for acting, writing, and directing. He’s had an enviable big-screen career as well, including an Oscar-nominated turn in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator (2004). Over the years, he’s earned acclaim for his performances in Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Flirting with Disaster (1996), Bridge of Spies (2015), and Marriage Story (2019). 

Back on the small screen, Alda has had recurring roles on The Blacklist (2013–2014) and Ray Donovan (2018–2020). 

Alda has been married to Arlene Weiss since 1957. Their three children are Beatrice, Eve, and Elizabeth.