So, I've spent a lot of time recently re-watching episodes of The West Wing and debating with myself about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various actors and actresses who populated the show. So I decided to talk it out in blog post form. Below is my best effort to rank the quality of the performances of the main cast of The West Wing.
Before we get into it, as always, we should discuss the protocol used in these rankings.
The process to gauging a TV performance has to be different than gauging a movie performance. This is true for a number of reasons, but the most obvious is time. A film may last three hours. The West Wing aired for about 17 hours a season for seven seasons. That is a lot of time to fill. Consequently, we should be looking at a number of factors in describing, and ranking, the performances. I will be using a 40 point scale.
1) Characterization 1-10:
To what extent does the performance give us a full understanding of the character? For instance, Leo's assistant, Margaret, has roughly the same amount of time on camera as the President's executive secretary, Mrs. Landingham. But after seven years, I have no idea who Margaret is when she leaves the White House, while I have a very complete idea of who Mrs. Landingham was. Consequently, Kathryn Joosten (who played Landingham) would get something like an 8.5/10, whereas Nicole Robinson (who played Margaret) would get a 2/10 (she was visibly pregnant in Season 6 and it was never once mentioned--who is this woman?).
2) Demands of the Role 1-10:
What kind of emotional range does the character demonstrate and how does the actor navigate that range? Bradley Whitford would score high for the characterization of Josh Lyman, but with a very few exceptions (the aftermath of being shot, for instance) there is virtually no range there. By contrast look at the dazzling array of things that Allison Janney is asked to do on this show as C.J. Cregg. Janney gets a 10/10 (and for the first time ever in one of these rankings I would consider awarding bonus points in this category because C.J. really does everything a person can possibly do on this show, it's unreal).
3. Intrinsicness 1-10:
How essential is it that a particular actor play a particular part? Is the role even conceivable with another actor of similar notoriety (it is unfair to say, for instance, that Paul Giamatti could play Toby Ziegler as well or better than Richard Schiff, because of course he could, but why would he?)? Could John Stamos have played Sam Seaborn as well as Rob Lowe? Could John Mahoney have played Leo as well as John Spencer? That is the question we are trying to answer here.
4. Technical Virtuosity 1-10:
Believe it or not, pretty much every actor on a TV show like The West Wing could haul off and give you a passionate monologue. It's why actors in shows written by Aaron Sorkin tend to win awards, because monologues are the great equalizer when everyone has hit a certain pre-requisite level of talent. But that doesn't mean they are all equally gifted. Richard Schiff's performance as Toby is a masterpiece of restraint, of the kind of small acting that wins more respect from other pros than it does awards. Rob Lowe, on the other hand, plays huge. Sam is not that dissimilar in performance from Lowe's later role on Parks and Recreation, and while certainly charming this does not display a high level of technical skill. Schiff would get a 9/10, while Lowe would earn only a 4/10.
I should also issue some caveats here. To appear on this list you must have appeared as a main cast member in at least 4 seasons of the show. We'll call this the Sam Seaborn rule. That means, for instance, and even though it saddens me, that we will not see Annabeth Schott, Mrs. Landingham, or Zoe on this list. It also means no recurring but non-main cast choices like Adm. Fitzwallace or Nancy O'Malley. To include them would make this post more cumbersome than it already is. Also, I didn't include Will Bailey. I hate Will Bailey, I hate Joshua Molina, and if you want him on a list like this you'll have to make your own. Nuts to that guy.
So, without further ado...the list!
10) Stockard Channing
The problem that Channing (who is usually a pretty good actress) has in this role is that Aaron Sorkin hates women. Consequently, there is going to be a kind of grouping at the bottom here. Part of this is that all of these women are going to get low "Demands of Role" scores because Sorkin doesn't give them enough to do. One should always keep this in mind with Sorkin's work. That problem carries over into the other categories. There is nothing about the performance, for instance, that requires Channing. Ten or even twenty other actresses could give you the same performance. But as the FLOTUS, Channing's performance is one dimensional and lacks nuance. The character seems perpetually annoyed and arch, and Channing isn't able to find any kind of leavening agent to give the role some life.
Characterization: 4/10
Demands of Role: 3/10
Intrinsicness: 3/10
Technical Virtuosity: 4/10
Total Score: 14/40
9) Rob Lowe
You could tell from the first five or six episodes of the series, even if you didn't already know, that Sorkin intended Sam Seaborn to be the main character of The West Wing. I guess that makes sense, the original conception of the show didn't involve the President as a major character, and Rob Lowe was the biggest star of the remaining actors. The biggest problem that Lowe has here is that all of his choices are big. The cadence of his line delivery, the rhythm of his abrupt physical gestures, the way he leaves his face slack when it's his job to be the straight man on a joke are all the most obvious kind of choice. Any number of suitably handsome actors including John Stamos and Garrett Dillahunt spring to mind as actors who could have done as much or more with the role.
Characterization: 5/10
Demands of Role: 5/10
Intrinsicness: 3/10
Technical Virtuosity: 3/10
Total Score: 16/40
8) Lily Tomlin
The role of Debbie Fiderer, and performance, are a sorry stand-in for Mrs. Landingham. There isn't a lot to say here, besides that there is very little in the character that makes it stand out. That it does at all is only because Lily Tomlin is doing work that is better than the part deserves.
Characterization: 6/10
Demands of Role: 4/10
Intrinsicness: 3/10
Technical Virtuosity: 5/10
Total Score: 18/40
7) Janel Moloney
Everything I said about Sorkin hating women above applies to Janel Moloney's portrayal of Donna Moss. She is most frequently used as a romantic foil for Bradley Whitford. However, in the seventh season, Donna really comes into her own as a character and Moloney does fine work in that season expressing greater competence and coming into her own as a figure with sexual desires that she is willing to act upon. Were it not for that late series transformation, though, Moloney's performance would be lower on this list by virtue of lack of material.
Characterization: 6/10
Demands of Roles: 6/10
Intrinsicness: 4/10
Technical Virtuosity: 5/10
Total Score: 21/40
6) Bradley Whitford
We are getting into the realm of performances that really only suffer in single categories. For instance, Whitford loses points for "Demands of Role" because with almost no exceptions across seven seasons, the performance stays on a single note. The closest we get to an adjustment in performance is the difference between "stressed" and "very stressed." It puts him a cut above the roles that don't do much, but at this level you need to have more than just one good pitch.
Characterization: 8/10
Demands of Role: 4/10
Intrinsicness: 7/10
Technical Virtuosity: 6/10
Total Score: 25/40
5) Dule Hill
Dule Hill gets a lot to do, a wide range of emotions and actions, his characterization of Charlie Young is on point, and yet he is only fifth on this list. The problem that Hill has relates to technical virtuosity. Hill is a young actor in this role, just learning his craft, and it shows sometimes. If we were just thinking of the performer that Hill is by the end of the series he would probably be higher, but taken on the whole he ends up here.
Characterization: 7/10
Demands of Role: 8/10
Intrinsicness: 7/10
Technical Virtuosity: 5/10
Total Score 27/40
4) Richard Schiff
To really appreciate Schiff's performance as Toby Ziegler you have to be paying attention to extremely small technical variations in voice, face, gesture, and posture. This is high level "small" acting, and Schiff is delivering a master class. When his emotions do boil over, it is with a kind of majestic intensity. The problem that Schiff has is that it is very easy to imagine alternative versions of Toby. For instance, Judd Nelson could probably have played his role very well. That brings him down a little bit.
Characterization: 8.5/10
Demands of Role: 8/10
Intrinsicness: 6/10
Technical Virtuosity: 9/10
Total Score: 31.5/40
3) Martin Sheen
Amongst the top three we are really going to be splitting hairs. Martin Sheen's President Bartlet loses a few points here for his public speeches. The idea of getting a movie star to play the President (and it is worth noting that Sheen is, at the time The West Wing is in production, is one of the first major movie stars to ever star in a television show) was that he would nail the big Sorkin monologues and be able to crush big speeches. Bartlet does great with the monologues, but for some reason Sheen struggles to deliver the great political orations that the show wants him to make.
Characterization: 9/10
Demands of Role: 9/10
Intrinsicness: 9/10
Technical Virtuosity: 8/10
Total Score: 35/40
2) John Spencer
This would be a perfect two way tie except for one thing. I can think of another actor who could have played Leo McGarry just as well as Spencer. That actor is John Mahoney, and his existence drops Spencer from a tie for first into a clear second place.
Characterization: 10/10
Demands of Role: 10/10
Intrinsicness: 9.5/10
Technical Virtuosity: 10/10
Total Score: 39.5/40
1) Allison Janney
And ultimately, there can be only one. Allison Janney does more than any other character on the show, she does it better, and it is impossible to imagine anyone else but her as the razor sharp, but secretly soft inside C.J. Cregg. It was the role that made Janney's career, and for seven seasons she made it her own like few actresses have ever done.
Characterization: 10/10
Demands of Role: 10/10
Intrinsicness: 10/10
Technical Virtuosity: 10/10
Total Score: 40/40
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