While politics were deeply ingrained into the NBC series, which ran from 1999 to 2006, it was about so much more than that for viewers and for the actors.
“The memories associated with West Wing are in two categories,” Moloney, who played Josh’s assistant Donna, says in one of the videos. “There’s the prank, silly category, and then the creative, amazing, mind-blowingly lucky category.”
Moloney remembered Whitford helping her through her first “walk and talk” scene, and Hill recalled Sheen teaching him a handshake he learned from Lawrence Fishburne on the set of Apocalypse Now. Whitford told a story of professional dancer Hill tap dancing as famed musician Yo-Yo Ma improvised on the cello during the filming of a season two episode.
“Nothing beats that,” Whitford said.
Lowe, who starred as Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborne, described a table read for the episode in which Mrs. Landingham (Joosten) died. Brian Williams had brought his whole family to watch the read-through, and they were shocked as the whole cast broke down over the death.
“There was an audible gasp and people were sobbing and so upset,” he said. “The poor Williams family didn’t know what the hell to do.”
