TWW Top 10-Secondary/Recurring Characters
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THIS. THE WEST WING WAS MADE BY AARON SORKIN AND I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS NOR THE ACTORS. THIS IS JUST A COMPILATION OF MOMENTS FROM THE BEST SECONDARY CHARACTERS.
As a sidenote, these characters were chosen by a community post in a facebook group. These are not my personal opinions entirely, but a group consensus.
VOTE ON THE NEXT ONE: www.strawpoll.me/11280753 - Komedie
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If you can make it through Mrs. Landingham's "I miss my boys" story without tearing up, you are not human. Such understated grace and elegance.
⁰
😊
Too true.
You’re right!
One non-human here. I have this capacity for being able to separate reality from fiction.
Oliver Babbish smashing the hell out of that tape recorder has me in stitches every single time. Mrs. Landingham speaking about her boys, that hits me right in the feels. This show tackled Humor, Tragedy, and Hard Decisions and balanced all of them fabulously.
Same!
Absolutely
100% agreed. Well stated.
My favorite of these vignettes was Mrs. (Delores) Landingham, played by the late Kathryn Joosten, telling the story about her two twin boys, who died during the Vietnam War. She delivered the narrative entirely deadpan and yet, for me, it rates among the most poignant performances I have ever viewed. That takes some extraordinary talent!
I cried my eyes out with this scene!
Truth.
Watching that scene brings tears.
"And Margaret vetoing things and sending them back to the Hill!" I love this scene so much.
I loved when she told Leo she could sign the 25th amendment paper for the president while he was recovering from being shot...
First of all, I swear I thought you said Ann-Margret. I couldn't figure out when she was on the show! Second of all, great casting top to bottom!
I prefer Margaret's type of Coup d'Etat to the Trump version...
One of my favourite lines in the whole show. Margaret and Leo were always brilliant together.
Happens all the time.
"JOSH. Josh. HOW did you CUT your hand?" incredibly powerful scene. Stanley Keyworth deserved so much more screen timee. Thank you Adam Arkin. Amazing.
So true. A therapist calls you on your delusions. I also love when he tells Josh he's passing him on to someone with less expertise because the hard part is done.
The “I miss my boys” scene always makes me choke up a little
I cry every time I see this scene, and her love for the staff of the White House hits so hard.
"I don't know who the world's leading expert on warfare is, but any list of the top has to include me, and I can't tell when it's peacetime and wartime anymore!" Adm Fitzwallace on target.
"We killed Yamamoto."
"I think the White House counsel would say that's a coup d'etat" is one of my favorite lines from the entire series.
Lionel Tribbey should've made this list. John Larroquette's facial reactions were golden. He rarely had to say anything. his face told you everything you needed to know.
but he was WRONG about Pinafore!
@@MsVorpalBlade That's not the point.
I thought he’d be number one-especially after he barged into the president’s office asking him if he’d lost his mind!
@@downhomesunset
Firing those guys
The Mrs Landingham scene always makes me tear up, damnit. Why you gotta do me like that?
oliver platt didn't get enough in the show. he was really exceptional in a small part
He really was.
@@lisaallen9578 Oliver was maybe the one person, save the President and maybe Leo and CJ, who could handle Abbey.
I can't remember a better job of acting from Oliver Platt in anything else I've seen him in.
I really loved our introduction to him and the "big hammer". What he did to that tape recorder was classic comedy at its best.
When he looks at the tape recorder and the whole scene pauses. Then he takes the mallet and destroys it; it's just beautiful.
Mrs. Landingham was not in every episode so yes, she was recurring. Yet in the show she was second to none. She made every scene she was in better. Her character is directly responsible for Bartlet becoming president. It's rare to find any actor able to portray the quiet yet immense strength she did on the show. The episode of Bartlets response to her death was very well done.
It's also worth noting that of all the characters in the show, only Dolores Landingham and Jed Bartlett were played by two different actors...
Her character added a touch of class to any scene she was in.
I'm so glad that C.J. and Danny got together at the end.
And have a baby
Ainsley was awesome. The way the show introduce her was great. Wish politician / staffers really embraced "The President ask you to serve and the rest doesn't matter" mentality. It is so sad to see how great USA can be.
This show has so many great characters.
Yes I am here in 2021
It is funny because I never saw any of them as secondary. They were so integral to the show. I loved Ainsley Hayes and would have LOVED more of her. Lily Tomlin was a great addition as Federer. Fitz definitely number one.
This. You know it's a damn good cast when even the supporting actors are absolutely stacked with talent and completely memorable!
I love Danny’s line. That proved just how much he loved CJ. Just a great bit of romance.
Albee Duncan doesn't even get an honorable mention? "You lost your boat in the wrong part of the world, Mr. President."
You're the one I like.
Hal was amazing
"1968...I should know, I was there!"
Pueblo, a 1973 telemovie about the actual Pueblo Incident of 1968 starring Hal Holbrook.
And you thought DC's casting was on point (or is that "en-pointe"?)
John Amos as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace is a clear number one. The scene of John Spencer as Leo McGarry and John Amos in the Situation Room is arguably the best minutes of the entire series. Anna Deavere Smith as Dr. Nancy McNally is definitely worthy of second place. Her scene with Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg in the Women of Kumar is fabulous.
Truth
"I like to look good for you" LOL
There is no reason why America's Congressmen and senators should be failing so dismally to inject light, rather than mere dumb heated tirades, into the discourse that fills their hours. These days call for speech writing of the caliber of Ted Sorensen and Richard Goodwin not vaudeville and burlesque, whether or not our electeds recognize that kind of talent.
You know he visited Colin Powell once? Powell let him sit down in his office, and asked: what kind of name is Percy Fitzwallace for a brother?
I always loved the scene where Fitz comes into the conference on gays in the military. "Beat that with a stick!"
I'm so glad that they used that Fitz scene! Displays the incredible humour, intelligence and passion that Sorkin puts into his characters.
David - He’s been my screenwriting god ever since TWW 👌👌👌👌
Leo's rapport with Margaret is just awesome.
One of the reasons that this show is tied with M*A*S*H as my all-time favorite is that all of the actors, regulars, semi-regulars and guests, ALL of them, just didn't just bring their A game, they all brought more.BTW, it's really good that somebody took the time to do this - it's well deserved.
chuck - Oh yessss!!!
These WW threads is like being among all my best friends, swapping love and snippets about our favourite TV show.
My real life friends couldn’t understand my ardour.
But it was also a great opportunity to learn about (idealised) American politics: I kept it in my heart throughout the Dump administration…
Thank you, Chuck, for allowing me to hijack your Reply like this. 💙💙💙💙
Scene with Danny, most touching proposal ever.
Love Danny and CJ :)
The most brilliant writing for a network tv show ever.
"We measure the success of a mission by two things...was it successful and how few civilians did we hurt. They measure success by how many. Pregnant women are delivering bombs. You're talking to me about international laws? The laws of nature don't even apply here!"
The writing on this show was incredible, and John Amos' delivery of those lines gives me goosebumps.
Good scene but an immoral doctrine. Also, something I noticed about the show is sometimes characters would seem to swap places. Nancy and Fitz were like one person, and sometimes one of them was warmongering and other times the roles flipped. It felt inconsistent. One of the best shows ever made but not perfect.
"Does that come with tights and a cape?" Best line when replying to the President.
That Mrs. Landingham scene is a gutpunch every time I see it.
Leave it to Sorkin, known for his dialogue, to turn a deaf-mute into one of the most brilliant characters ever written for TV. God, I miss this show.
Seriously feeling you on that one!
me too...me too...!!!!
Hate to be a stickler, but she's not mute, just deaf. Totally agree that she's an awesome character though!
Marlee Matlin is in no way mute, nor was her character. She was one of the most brilliant female characters on the show.
And Deaf people prefer the term “deaf” - time to abandon the term you learned in the past.
"... Danang, ... Christmas Eve, 1970 ..."
I was in Danang on Christmas Eve, 1970 -- I went there in September -- for *1 year exactly* for my "tour of duty." At least I survived (with my own stories I could tell).
Lord Marbury deserves better than honorable mention.
That first scene with Oliver, lol. The tape recorder
I would like to put forth CJ's foil:
Bernard Thatch. British Snob extrodinare, snark king, insulted the Presidents art taste at every turn and keep his job, able to make an insult sound like a complement, chewed the ham and stole the scene in every scene he was in, secret soft heart for little elderly women that had their family legacy stolen, bested only by Charlie but not without a fight.
all great clips. Love Margaret saying she can do the presidents signature. Her and Leo play off each other so well. Leo and Fitz is the best!! I wonder how many takes it took?
the President neglected a formality transferring executive power before going into surgery
Margaret : Can - can I just say something, you know, for the future?
Leo McGarry : Yeah.
Margaret : *I* can sign the President's name. I have his signature down pretty good.
Leo McGarry : You can sign the President's name?
Margaret : Yeah.
Leo McGarry : On a document removing him from power and handing it to someone else?
Margaret : Yeah. Or, do you think the White House Counsel would say that was a bad idea?
Leo McGarry : I think the White House Counsel would say that's a coup d'etat.
Margaret : I'd probably end up doing some time for that.
Leo McGarry : I would think!
As an executive secretary for quite a while, I could do the signatures of the entire executive staff, including the company president. It was just expected that you’d sign things for your boss, I just went a step further. Learned for a longtime executive secretary early on that you put two tiny little lines below the last letter of the sig. 😅
The Leo-Fitzwallace scene is one of the best in all of television. Brilliant sparring, impeccable writing, magnificent actors.
Oh my, John Amos was so good as the admiral. An incredible actor.
I loved several of his characters.
The absolute epitome of dignity.
Fitz was such an awesome character
There weren’t many scenes with both Fitz and Nancy, but they were always great. “Dr. Strangelove.” “Admiral Sissymary.” 😆
All these actors are great, but my favorite is Ainsley Hayes (get the popcorn, Sam's getting beat up by a girl). And, why didn't Lionel Tribbey at least get a mention?
@Nerdy Jeremy yeah I only remember him in the ainsley episode
@Nerdy Jeremy he was in several episodes defending the president for hiding MS
@@lughildana sorry I was wrong in the previous comment
…Drinks!…..With Tiny Umbrellas!! 😆
@@clariceakrigg8 coming from a character that the actor was an alcoholic!
I cant express how much I love the scene with Margaret and the President's signature.
A Coup d' etat!
The scene with Mrs Landingham (Kathryn Jooster) should be required material for any person wanting to be an actor/actress. She did the entire dialogue with a straight face and very little emotion, yet she pulls so many emotions from the viewer. Describing how the boys died wanting their mother... I literally envisioned her jumping from trench to trench to save them. In a single scene you feel empathy, regret, loss, grief, pride and shock.
10:05 My brother, the son of an immigrant joined when his country called. In country 66-69, served DMV award the Purple Heart, watched his friends died. On leave returned home, died auto crashed into him on the Fairhaven Bridge, 2:10 a.m. December 26, 1969. Christmas left our home for many years. These writers are good!
I'm truly sorry for your loss.
I loved Margaret.
I can sign the President's name. During big block of cheese day when Leo said "I am sure Margaret worked hard handing out the meetings." She shakes her head and then nods exactly as Leo turns around.
Personally, I liked Special Agent Simon Donovan (Mark Harmon). I thought that was a really interesting arc and I would have liked to have seen more of him on the show
So would Mark Harmon! He was apparently very sad that Simon was *[SPOILER REDACTED.]* But Aaron Sorkin explained very well why that had to happen. President Bartlet had committed an act of hubris in assassinating Sharif, and he had to be punished for it. It’s such good writing.
One of my personal favorites was Cliff Calley. I wish we had gotten to see more of him as Deputy Chief of Staff.
Lawyers understand discretion.
I love Ainsley Hays! She's one of my favorite characters.
I loved her, and the way she was portrayed. Even though the show was highlighting a Democratic administration, the way they all warmed up to her and appreciated her talent and intelligence, even if they didn't agree with her politics, was so cool. And the fact that she was always hungry cracks me up, girl loved her snacks, lol! And I still wish she and Sam would have ended up together, they had some major chemistry :)
She wasn't/isn't a mute, when people are born we all learn how to speak by listening and mimicing those sounds...deaf people can't do that.
Krysstinia
oh please. I was so glad she got her ass kicked when she was working for the First Lady
Always love the bit where she's dancing and the President walks in...
I LOVED Fitz SO much! He OWNED that role, and you couldn't help but admire his character!
Wrong clip for Bruno- '...when it costs us NOTHING!' 2nd choice- 'Freak' to Sam.
Yes to Freak... and for Danny it should have been either Gayle the Goldfish, or the kiss (also with Gayle the Goldfish!).
Oh, or "I just want to talk" from the final season...
The characterization on the West Wing was so amazing.
Did I miss Lionel Tribbey? Lionel and his cricket bat gifted to him by Elizabeth Windsor?
Love the idea of this video!
As a huge fan of TWW, it’s great to reminisce about all the wonderful people who participated in making this show so extraordinary.
Who, in what order, all that is just a pretext for coming back to this work of art.
The president in the car, after being shot, with Butterfield always makes emotional.
Mark Harmon SS character
This is a great Fitz clip, but I personally love the one where he helps Sam with gays in the military using blacks in the military
"Beat that with a stick"...
I like this list, if not the placement of a few characters. I would move Mrs Landingham and Debbie Fiderer up and Margaret Hooper down because the two of them were more central in several storylines. I also would drop Amy from the list, personally, and pick either Nancy McNally or Sir John Marbury (I know the Marbury character was only in a few episodes, but he was absolutely essential when he appeared). I also can't believe Cliff Calley wasn't an honorable mention. He's the only character to play both sides, first as majority counsel to the committee investigating the MS "scandal", then as a White House staffer helping Santos pass a bill.
Marbury was in more episodes, and was more crucial in those episodes, than Glen Allen Walken (John Goodman). Walken was the acting-President for 2 episodes, and made a re-appearance in a later episode after Bartlet resumed the presidency.
"I will wait in the tall grass for you, senator"
what a kick-ass line
Definitely should have dropped Amy. And yes for Cliff Calley!
Where’s Lionel Tribbey?
Lionel!
Excellent list but I think that secret service agent who was killed should be here. I can’t remember how many episodes he was in but he sure was memorable
Do you mean Mark Harmon protecting CJ? Only 3, but their interaction was great. Heart breaking when he was killed.
@@jeangladstone720 yeah that’s him, thanks!
Lionel Tribbey is a tough act to follow, but Oliver Babbish sure made a go at it!
When Kathryn Joosten (Mrs. Landingham) spoke about losing her twin sons in Vietnam, I found it to be a virtuoso performance - elegant, understated, and oh so perfectly shaped!
In fact, Aaron Sorkin’s tantalizing dialogue was often delivered by towering performances - those of Martin Sheen (President Bartlett), John Spencer (Leo McGarry), and all the others at various times and in various ways.
In short, The West Wing represents a watershed in television programming that informed as well as entertained, that made us better by simply having been witness to its extraordinary message.
Whether you are a liberal or a conservative, you saw smart on display. Oh, sure - Republicans were often made the bad guys. However, one of the smartest characters was Ainsley Hayes, the temporary President, filled by a Republican Speaker of the House - these were smart characters, too!
That temporary president was played brilliantly by John Goodman.
The slow pan in during Mrs. Landingham's soliloquy about her sons...as my heart breaks each time I watch it. Devastating.
And Admiral Fitz's Yamamoto speech. So well written by Sorkin and the writing staff and then acted by John Amos. This is why I watched this show over and over on dvd.
There were so many great characters during the seven years this show aired, choosing only ten would be an exercise in futility for me. It's like somebody asking me what would be my ten favorite songs. Only ten?!
Always laugh at the Ainsley and her shock when the president walks in... and his quip "I didn't even know we had a nightclub down here..."
i love when Fitzwallace is in the room. That peace time /war time bit is always gold to me.
Great choice for number 1
Agreed!
So much great writing and performances. So many of my favorite actors appeared in this show. ❤
Amy was "the perfect is the enemy of the good" put into dialogue. Her motivations were pure, her actions were just stupid due to ego when she knobbled Josh's comms while he was pointing out what the opposition was going to do to her chosen policy platform if she inadvertently helped get them elected.
Had she been real she would have been one of those morons loudly sounding off against DADT without having a clue why it was the policy and what had come before it.
Mary-Louise Parker did a fantastic job portraying her.
I'm a bit surprised that John Hoynes didn't get an honorable mention.
Kathryn Joosten quietly giving a seminar on how to own a scene.
Top ten?!? Not possible with this show
Fitz. Lord Marbury Ainsley Mallory. Joey Lucas
I miss my boys still wrecks me....
I love this show and everyone in it. And that includes some of the characters who were pretty slimy. The actors and actresses who played ALL of the characters were extraordinary.
one of the best compilations I have ever seen
Agreed. #6, Oliver Babbish... Best secondary character intro... EVER! xD
I was so pissed when they killed off Fitz. I felt he could have been the next President or VP, and it would have worked well for the series to continue as such.
@1:16 - That's over the line. Competing is one thing, using your relationship with someone to undermine their career would, well, 'taint' my enthusiasm for the relationship.
They both were borderline sociopaths though.
The Midwest airport/time zone freakout vignette was a bit of comedic genius.
Superb
Mrs. Landingham is First in my Heart. Always.
I love John Amos.
Always have.
Always will.
The fact Lord Marbury is only an "honorable mention" negates this list (except for Col. Fitzwallace)
he at least deserved a better clip.
Admiral
This is one of the greatest TV series ever produced. Up there with MASH for its superb acting and writing.
Fitz was navy, but his use of the word soldier seems appropriate in this exceptionally poignant scene. The word's used in the broadest sense, to distinguish a civilian from someone with a military background who would have a far deeper appreciation of what the life and the job entails.
*Any military force are 'Soldiers' regardless of the distinction of ground/air/sea is still a combatant in 'harm's way'*
My first reaction was that Fitz would have called himself "Sailor" - but that word lacks the martial connotation of "Soldier" when used in a general sense. Leo was Air Force, and I'm guessing Fitz chose "Soldier" for precisely the reason you note.
My absolute favorite Danny Cancanon scene ever!!!!
I don't know if it's hearing the song often enough to know the beat, but I can time it almost right to when Ainsley drops that glass.
Great show!
i cry to know Brunoo and Lord John and Leo are no longer with us.
Good damn I only knew about John
Mrs Landingham has also passed
I wish that this video was split up into two lists, one for secondary characters (who were usually White House staff on the show) and the second for recurring characters (who were more like guest stars).
What I found very surprising was that NiCole Robinson was just 27 when the show begun. I pictured her in her forties! My bad.
Love all these characters!
I just liked Mrs. Landingham. When she finally bought a new car, and was all happy & proud about it…and got in that wreck that broke my heart. I think President Walken was top 10. Love John Amos. And he got killed off in two of my favorite TV series.
All great, Mrs Landingham hands down.
15:12 ... Agent Coulson! :D
Great show
I still ship Ainsley and Sam after all these years. They had some chemistry, can't deny it, lol!
Some great ones there. John Spenser and John Amos is next level acting, but all 10 are excellent. Mrs. Landingham's episode was phenomenal.
Margaret offering to forge the president’s signature… every time I see it I laugh! “Or do you think the White House Counsel’s office would say it’s a bad idea?” “I think the White House Counsel would say that’s a coup de taut!” 😂😂😂
So many favorites, but "Blame it on the Bossa Nova" always cracks me up.
Great list
This was my all time favorite show. When Mrs. Landingham died, I felt like I had lost my own mother.😢
I would have hated the job of trying to rank all of these exceptional performances. Every one was amazing
Ed and Larry should be on the list.
Should be the on the same number.
Larry and Ed.
Which one's Ed?
@@tylernelson4901 doesn't matter
Gosh, it's like the entirety of who's who in Hollywood at the time wanted to be on this series: Adam Arkin, Oliver Platt, Ron Silver, Stephen Root, Patricia Richardson, Timothy Busfield, John Goodman, Roger Rees, John Amos, Lily Tomlin, John Larroquette, and so many more!! 💖
Has anyone ever done a count of how many named characters appeared in the series? How many extras for all the crowd scenes?
Fitzwallace is my top choice. :)
This was an amazing show. Every character was important