'The West Wing' Cast: Where Are They Now?

West Wing cast

This fall will mark 25 years since the premiere of Aaron Sorkin’s beloved, warm-hearted White House drama, The West Wing. Though it now plays more than ever like a period piece, with its hopeful and idealistic depiction of a Washington that feels far removed from the divided reality, the show holds up beautifully as comfort viewing, and its first four seasons are a real showcase for Sorkin’s inimitably sharp dialogue.

The actors who played the staffers of the West Wing under President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) have all gone on to continued success after the show ended its run in 2006. Here’s a rundown of what they’ve all been doing since the end of the Bartlet administration, and where they are now.

'The West Wing' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Rob Lowe

Lowe’s casting in The West Wing represented something of a career comeback for him—he’d been a teen idol a decade earlier, making his big-screen debut in The Outsiders (1983) and going on to star in movies including St Elmo’s Fire (1985) and Square Dance (1987). He played White House speechwriter Sam Seaborn throughout the first four seasons of the show, before departing due to reported disputes over salary and screen time. He made a return in 2006 for the show’s final two episodes.

Since The West Wing, Lowe has been a series regular on numerous hit shows including Brothers & Sisters and Parks and Recreation. He’s currently starring on the Fox procedural 9-1-1: Lone Star as a New York firefighter captain who relocates to work for the emergency medical services in Austin, Texas, and he co-created the Netflix show Unstable with his son John Owen. The series, which follows a wildly wealthy, mildly unhinged biotech honcho who convinces his introverted son, Jackson, to go to work for him and help save the company from disaster, was picked up for a second season, which has yet to air.

Related: Rob Lowe Talks Nepo Babies and His Netflix Show 'Unstable'

Bradley Whitford

Whitford was one of the breakout stars of The West Wing, and his character, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, was a firm fan favorite. He won a 2001 Emmy Award for his performance in the series, and formed an enduring relationship with Sorkin. Just after wrapping The West Wing, he starred in the creator's short-lived next series, Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip.

Since then, Whitford has appeared in movies including The Cabin In The Woods and Get Out, and TV shows including Transparent, for which he won his second Emmy. He’s currently a series regular on Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, playing the enigmatic Commander Lawrence.

Allison Janney

It’s impossible to imagine anyone but Janney playing White House secretary C.J. Cregg, a character beloved by fans and critics alike for her sharp wit, dedication to her job, and unforgettable performance of “The Jackal”. She won a total of four Emmys for her work on the show, and has since won two more for her performance as a recovering drug addict in CBS’s Mom. She’s also starred in movies including Juno, The Help and I, Tonya, and won an Oscar for the latter. Her latest role is in the Apple TV+ series Palm Royale.

Related: Everything to Know About 'Palm Royale,' the Star-Studded Comedy on Apple TV+

Martin Sheen

In Sorkin’s original vision for The West Wing, the president himself was going to be a minor or even completely off-screen role. When Sheen originally signed on, it was for just four episodes. But when Sorkin and executive producer John Wells saw his performance, they changed the plan. Sheen was a well-known movie star at the time, having risen to prominence in Badlands (1973) and Apocalypse Now (1979), and although this was well before the days of "prestige TV," he signed on for a multi-season run.

Since The West Wing, Sheen has starred in movies including The Departed, The Amazing Spider-Man and Judas and the Black Messiah, and was a series regular on the Netflix series Grace & Frankie.

Richard Schiff

Schiff played the cantankerous but lovable White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler for six seasons out of seven, and won an Emmy Award in 2000 for the role. Since leaving the show, he’s worked steadily in TV, movies and theater, including a recurring role in Ballers, and turns in movies including Man of Steel, Kill The Messenger and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He is currently part of the core cast on ABC’s hit medical drama The Good Doctor, which will air its series finale this May.

Dulé Hill

Hill joined the cast of The West Wing in the third episode of the series as Charlie Young, who is hired as President Bartlet’s personal aide. He appeared in all seven seasons, and immediately after wrapping The West Wing he was cast in a lead role in the USA detective dramedy series Psych. Just like Schiff, he had a recurring role on Ballers, and joined the cast of Suits for its seventh season in 2017.

Janel Maloney

Maloney played Josh’s long-suffering secretary Donna Moss, and built what would become an incredibly satisfying will-they-won’t-they dynamic alongside Whitford. She subsequently went on to star in all three seasons of the acclaimed HBO series The Leftovers, and has appeared in various other shows including House, The Good Wife and The Affair.

John Spencer

Prior to his indelible performance as President’s Bartlet’s Chief of Staff and closest confidante Leo McGarry, Spencer was best known for playing street-smart attorney Tommy Mullaney on L.A. Law. Spencer won an Emmy for his performance as Leo in 2002.

A few months into filming on the final season of The West Wing, Spencer died suddenly from a heart attack. Since Leo had suffered an on-screen heart attack in a previous season, the show’s writers wrote Spencer’s tragic death into the series, leading to one of its most memorable and devastating episodes.

“I lost a brother,” Sheen told Empire of Spencer’s death. “I absolutely adored him. He and I were the oldest; we were also AA people and we had so much in common. The nuances between us and the affection we had for each other... We were serious guys, but he had a wonderful sense of humor and we would joke all the time.”

Stockard Channing

Alongside Sheen, Channing was one of the more established actors in the ensemble when she was cast to play First Lady Abbey Bartlet. Following her breakout role as Betty Rizzo in Grease, she built a career both on screen and stage, winning a 1985 Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway show A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. Since The West Wing, she’s appeared in numerous Broadway productions, and had a recurring role on The Good Wife.

Moira Kelly

Kelly had starred in films such as The Cutting Edge, Chaplin and With Honors—and voiced Nala in The Lion King—before she took on the role of Many Hampton, a political consultant to the Bartlet administration, in the first season of The West Wing. After her short-lived time on the show, she went on to star in One Tree Hill and is still active in Hollywood today, appearing in many TV movies as well as the 2023 series Citadel.

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