The appearance of The West Wing cast members Bradley Whitford, John Spencer, Janel Moloney, producer Lou Wells and former Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart in ICC Auditorium on Sunday was reminiscent of a walk down the red carpet. In a casual setting, the actors and producer of the NBC series shared their ideas and experiences from the show with Georgetown students in a discussion moderated by Lockhart.
The actors said that they were stunned to realize that an unconventional show about politics had become a hit. They attributed the success of the show to the talent of creator Aaron Sorkin. Whitford, who plays Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman on The West Wing, effusively praised Sorkin as “a stunningly gifted guy.”
As close parallels were drawn between the show and the real West Wing, the cast and producers said that they felt a special responsibility to accurately portray their real counterparts. Producer Lou Wells struggled with conveying the “real immediacy of the White House” in a fictional show. Whitford said that he wanted to convey how much politicians care for issues and how seriously they take their duties.
After Sept. 11, the actors said that the studio took great care in deciding how the show should respond to the World Trade Center attacks. At the studio, they “were worried that the show was so trivial in comparison to how high stakes were in the real world,”said Moloney, who plays Lyman’s secretary Donna Moss.
“This was too important not to do well,” Whitford said.
Although the episode following Sept. 11 was the second-highest rated episode of the year, Wells said that it received mixed reviews among the critics.
The cast said that it is committed to the show that they feel has helped to popularize political issues. They said that the appeal of The West Wing lies in the “human drama” that also happens to discuss politics. Despite the liberal slant, the cast said that Sorkin attempts to balance arguments within issues.
“Besides, conservative Republicans are not as funny or sexy,” Whitford said.
