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The television series The West Wing, a political drama series originated for NBC, has a sizable cast of characters. In addition to a group of main characters who generally appear in most episodes, there are numerous secondary characters who only appear periodically.
There have been jokes about characters who "disappear" without explanation. There have also been instances where characters who haven't been seen for a year or more have re-appeared, again without the fact being mentioned within the show.
The intermittent nature of some of these characters' appearances can best be explained by two things. First, there is the fact that the real White House employs hundreds of people and interacts with thousands. In a weekly one hour series there is no time to show all of the characters who presumably are performing their jobs and living their lives "off screen". Second, there is the reality of television. The producers cannot afford to maintain all of the actors who portray these characters on a continuous cast. So the main characters carry out the main storylines and secondary characters are brought in as needed.
Main characters
- Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet (Martin Sheen) - President of the United States
- Abbey Bartlet (Stockard Channing) - The First Lady.
- Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg (Allison Janney) - White House Press Secretary (Seasons 1-5); White House Chief of Staff (Seasons 6- )
- Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) - Deputy White House Chief of Staff
- Leo McGarry (John Spencer) - White House Chief of Staff (Seasons 1-5)
- Donnatella 'Donna' Moss (Janel Moloney) - Senior Assistant to Josh Lyman
- Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) - White House Director of Communications
- Charlie Young (Dulé Hill) - Personal Aide to the President. Later became assistant to the Chief of Staff.
- Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) - Deputy Communications Director (Seasons 1-4). Resigned to run for Congress
- Will Bailey (Joshua Malina) - Deputy Communications Director (Seasons 4-5). Succeeded Sam Seaborn. Now Chief of Staff to Vice President Russell.
Secondary characters
Families
- Zoey Bartlet (Elizabeth Moss), the President's youngest daughter. Victim of an abduction. Dated Charlie Young.
- Eleanor 'Ellie' Bartlet (Nina Siemaszko), the President's middle daughter
- Elizabeth 'Liz' Bartlet Westin (Annabeth Gish), the President's eldest daughter
- Doug Westin (Steven Eckholdt), Liz's husband
- Mallory O'Brian (Allison Smith), the Chief of Staff Leo McGarry's daughter
Government officials
White House staff
- Oliver Babish (Oliver Platt) - The President's Legal Counsel
- Bonnie (Devika Parikh) - assistant to the Communications Director Toby Ziegler
- Carol (Melissa Fitzgerald) - assistant to the Press Secretary C.J. Cregg
- Curtis Carruthers (Ben Murray) - Personal aide to the President. Succeeded Charlie Young.
- Cathy (Suzy Nakamura) - assistant to the Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn
- Ed (Peter James Smith) - White House Staffer. Usually seen with Larry.
- Deborah Fiderer (Lily Tomlin) - The President's personal secretary. Hired after the death of Mrs Landingham. (Seasons 4-)
- Ginger (Kim Webster) - assistant to the Communications Director
- Kate Harper (Mary McCormack) - Deputy National Security Advisor
- Ainsley Hayes (Emily Procter) - Associate (and proposed Deputy) White House Counsel. A conservative Republican. (Seasons 2-3)
- Dolores Landingham (Kathryn Joosten) - The President's personal secretary. Killed in a car accident. (Seasons 1-2)
- Larry (Bill Duffy) - White House Staffer. Usually seen with Ed.
- Margaret (NiCole Robinson), secretary to the Chief of Staff
- Marina 'Rena' (Melissa Marsala), assistant to the Communications Director (Season 5-)
- Nancy (Renée Estevez), secretary to the President
- Ryan Pierce (Jesse Bradford) - White House intern.
- Joe Quincy (Matthew Perry), Associate White House Counsel. Republican. (Season 4-5)
- Lieutenant Commander Jack Reese (Christian Slater), military advisor (Season 4)
- Annabeth Schott (Kristin Chenoweth) - Deputy Communications Director
- Elsie Snuffin (Danica McKellar), assistant to the Deputy Communications Director Will Bailey (Season 4)
Secret Service / FBI
- Ron Butterfield (Michael O'Neill), head of the President's Secret Service detail
- Mike Casper (Clark Gregg), FBI Special Agent (Season 2-)
- Simon Donovan (Mark Harmon), Secret Service agent (Season 3)
- Gina Toscano (Jorja Fox), Secret Service agent (Season 1-2)
Freelance consultants
- Angela Blake (Michael Hyatt) - Political consultant.
- Amelia 'Amy' Gardner (Mary-Louise Parker) - Lobbyist for women's rights group. Later the First Lady's Chief of Staff. Resigned. (Seasons 3-6)
- Bruno Gianelli (Ron Silver), Bartlet re-election campaign strategist (Seasons 3-4, 6)
- Madeline 'Mandy' Hampton (Moira Kelly), media consultant (Season 1)
- Josephine 'Joey' Lucas (Marlee Matlin), political consultant, pollster
- Connie Tate (Connie Britton), Bartlet re-election campaign staffer
- Kenny Thurman (Bill O'Brien), Joey's sign interpreter
- Doug Wegland (Evan Handler), Bartlet re-election campaign staffer
Political friends and enemies
- Clifford 'Cliff' Calley (Mark Feuerstein), Majority Counsel (Season 3, 6)
- Congressman Jeff Haffley (Steven Culp) - Speaker of the House. Succeeded Glenallen Walken. Republican.
- Governor Robert Ritchie (R-FL) (James Brolin), President Barlet's Republican opponent in his re-election campaign. (Seasons 3-4)
- Congressman Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) - Candidate for Democratic Presidential nomination.
- Senator Tripplehorn (Geoff Pierson) - Senate Minority Leader
- Senator Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) - Candidate for Republican Presidential nomination.
- Glenallen Walken (John Goodman), Former Republican Speaker of the House. Temporarily assumed the Presidency when President Bartlet stepped down (Seasons 4-5). Presumed candidate for the Republican nomination for the post-Bartlet presidential election (so far off-screen).
- Congresswoman Andrea 'Andy' Wyatt (D-MD) (Kathleen York), Toby's ex-wife and mother of their twins, Huck and Molly (Seasons 1 -;)
Other characters
- Colin Ayres (Jason Isaacs), photographer (Season 5-)
- Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield), White House Press Corps correspondent for the Washington Post (Seasons 1, 3-)
- Jean Paul Pierre Claude Charpentier Vicomte de Condé de Bourbon (Trent Ford) - Zoey Bartlet's French Boyfriend
- Laurie (Lisa Edelstein) - Sam Seaborn's girlfriend. Law student working as a call-girl. (Season 1)
- Lord John Marbury (Roger Rees), British Ambassador to the United States (Seasons 1-3, 6)
- Judge Roberto Mendoza (Edward James Olmos) - Supreme Court Justice named by President Bartlet
- President D. Wire Newman (James Cromwell) - Former President of the United States
- Katie Witt (Kris Murphy), White House Press Corps reporter
- Gail (Herself), a goldfish [1] (http://homepage.mac.com/nmonks/gail/gail.html)
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