The West Wing employed a broad ensemble cast to portray the many positions involved in the daily work of the federal government. The President, the First Lady, and the President's senior staff and advisors form the core cast. Numerous secondary characters, appearing intermittently, complement storylines that generally revolve around this core group.
The following table summarizes the main cast. The position listed is the job that the character held in the first season, before any changes took place.
| Actor/Actress | Character | Position (first season) |
|---|---|---|
| Stockard Channing | Abigail Bartlet | First Lady |
| Dulé Hill | Charlie Young | Personal Aide to the President |
| Allison Janney | C.J. Cregg | Press Secretary |
| Moira Kelly (1999-2000) | Mandy Hampton | White House Media Consultant |
| Rob Lowe (1999-2003; briefly in 2006) | Sam Seaborn | Deputy Communications Director |
| Janel Moloney | Donna Moss | Special Assistant to Josh Lyman |
| Richard Schiff | Toby Ziegler | Communications Director |
| Martin Sheen | Josiah "Jed" Bartlet | President of the United States |
| John Spencer | Leo McGarry | Chief of Staff |
| Bradley Whitford | Josh Lyman | Deputy Chief of Staff |
Additions to the cast following the first season include Joshua Malina as speech writer and campaign guru Will Bailey, Mary McCormack as deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper, Kristin Chenoweth as communications advisor Annabeth Schott, Jimmy Smits as Texas Congressman Matt Santos, and Alan Alda as Senator Arnold Vinick of California.
Each of the principal actors made approximately $75,000 an episode, with Sheen's most recently confirmed salary being $300,000.[4][5] 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.[6] 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 convince the studio to more than double their salaries.[4] 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.[7]
The show suffered an unexpected loss by the death of John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry. Spencer passed away from a fatal 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 ran before "Running Mates", the first new episode that aired after Spencer's death. The loss of Spencer's character, McGarry, was addressed by the series beginning with the episode "Election Day", which aired on April 2, 2006.
Different performers had been originally considered for many of the roles. Bradley Whitford states in an interview on the Season 1 DVD that he was originally cast as Sam, though the character of Josh was the role Whitford had wanted and auditioned for. In addition, Josh's character been written specifically for him by Aaron Sorkin. In the same interview, Janel Moloney states that she had originally auditioned for the role of C.J., and that the role she eventually received, Donna, was not meant to be a recurring character. Other actors who were seriously considered include Alan Alda and Sidney Poitier for the President, Judd Hirsch for Leo, Eugene Levy for Toby, and CCH Pounder for C.J.[8]
