The Deputy Chief of Staff’s Tailored Role
Bradley Whitford played the Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh Lyman. Aaron Sorkin created the character with Josh in mind because the pair had been friends for many years. Lyman was one of the smartest characters on the show and described as a “somewhat cocky, boyishly charming know-it-all.” While researching the role, Whitford read Bill Clinton’s former communications director George Stephanopoulos’s book All Too Human. He explained, “It gave a sense of the sort of smell and the texture and the level of intimacy with the president, which I was just unaware of.” Whitford earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2001 for his role.
