Bradley Whitford

Juilliard School (GrDip)

Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. From 1999 to 2006, Whitford starred as Josh Lyman, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, in NBC's political drama television series The West Wing. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role in 2001.

In addition to The West Wing, Whitford played Danny Tripp in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy The Good Guys, Timothy Carter, a character who was believed to be Red John, in the CBS series The Mentalist, antagonist Eric Gordon in the film Billy Madison, Arthur Parsons in The Post, Dean Armitage in the horror film Get Out, Roger Peralta in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, President Gray in the dystopian science fiction film The Darkest Minds and Rick Stanton in the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

In 2015, he won a second Primetime Emmy Award for his guest role as Marcy in Transparent and later garnered a fifth Primetime Emmy Award nomination for portraying Magnus Hirschfeld in the same series. From 2018 to 2025, Whitford portrayed Commander Joseph Lawrence in Hulu dystopian drama The Handmaid's Tale, for which he won his third Primetime Emmy Award in 2019.

Early life

Bradley Whitford was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and George Van Norman Whitford. In an appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark on October 13, 2025, he said, "I am from a strange family. My parents... they lived very long lives... It would have been their 89th (wedding) anniversary... I have a sister, same parents, 85 years old, 19 or 20 years older than me. They (his parents) had three (children). (Ten years later they had) my brother Dave... I grew up watching my older siblings raise families." His mother, a poet, later lived in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.

Whitford graduated from Madison East High School in Madison in 1977. He majored in English and theater at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and was a roommate of producer Paul Schiff, the brother of his future West Wing cast mate Richard Schiff. Whitford graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981. He then studied drama at the Juilliard School in Manhattan, New York where he was a member of "Group 14". Wendell Pierce, an actor is also from Group 14.

The NBC series Who Do You Think You Are? explored Whitford's ancestry in an August 2022 episode, including ancestors who fought in a crucial American Civil War battle, the Battle of Vicksburg.

Career

Whitford first appeared on television in a 1985 episode of The Equalizer, followed by a two-year recurring role on the ABC daytime drama All My Children. His film debut was in the 1986 film Dead as a Doorman. He made his Broadway theatre debut in 1990 playing Lt. Jack Ross (followed a few months later in the lead role of Lt. Daniel Kaffee), in the Aaron Sorkin written play A Few Good Men. This was the beginning of a recurring working relationship between Whitford and Sorkin.

Whitford's film roles during the 1980s and 1990s included Elisabeth Shue's boyfriend Mike Todwell in Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Roger Latimer in Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), Jamie Kemp in Presumed Innocent (1990), Charles Phalen in Young Guns II (1990), Dr. Tyler in Awakenings (1990), Al Pacino's nephew Randy Slade in Scent of a Woman (1992), FBI sharpshooter Bobby Lee in A Perfect World (1993), lawyer Jamey Collins in Philadelphia (1993), Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Fink in The Client (1994), antagonist Eric Gordon in Billy Madison (1995), and Lloyd Charney in Bicentennial Man (1999). His television appearances during this time included Guiding Light, NYPD Blue, Ellen, The X-Files, Touched by an Angel, and a guest appearance on ER in the Emmy Award-winning episode "Love's Labor Lost".

Whitford joined the cast of Sorkin's The West Wing as Josh Lyman with the show's premiere in 1999. For his role, he won an Emmy Award in 2001 for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Whitford also wrote two episodes of the series ("Faith Based Initiative" in the sixth season and "Internal Displacement" in the seventh). After The West Wing ended in May 2006, Whitford appeared in Sorkin's later series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip playing the role of Danny Tripp. He appeared in the British drama Burn Up on the BBC in July 2008.

He starred in the play Boeing-Boeing which opened on Broadway on May 4, 2008. He co-starred in the Joss Whedon/Drew Goddard horror film The Cabin in the Woods, filmed in 2009 but not released until April 2012. In 2010, Whitford starred as Dan Stark in the Fox TV comedy The Good Guys opposite Colin Hanks. In 2011, Whitford guest-starred in In Plain Sight on USA Network as a man combating paranoia. He appeared in the season three finale of The Mentalist as a minion of and decoy for "Red John", the long-sought nemesis of the show's protagonist Patrick Jane. Whitford appeared on Law & Order: Los Angeles as a lawyer. On September 15, 2011, he starred in the one-night-only staged reading of 8, a play written by Dustin Lance Black chronicling the events of a trial surrounding California's Proposition 8.

In 2013, Whitford played Pete Harrison in the ABC comedy Trophy Wife, which was canceled after one season. Also in the same year, he played Don DaGradi in Saving Mr. Banks. In 2014, he appeared in a recurring role as a cross-dressing businessman during the first season of the Amazon Studios series Transparent. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. He returned during the series' second season as Magnus Hirschfeld. In February 2014, it was announced that he was cast in Midnight Rider, a biopic of Gregg Allman directed by Randall Miller. Starting in 2015, Whitford had a recurring role in Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Roger Peralta, father of a lead character Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg). In 2017, Whitford played Dean Armitage, a father and neurosurgeon, in the horror film Get Out and antagonist Arthur Parsons in the political thriller The Post.

In 2018, Whitford played President Gray in the dystopian science fiction film The Darkest Minds. He joined the cast of the web dystopian tragedy The Handmaid's Tale as Commander Joseph Lawrence, guest starring in the final two episodes of the second season. He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2019 for his performance becoming the first person to have won the guest acting Emmy Awards for both comedy and drama. He returned as a series regular for the third season and received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 2019, Whitford played Rick Stanton in the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and from 2019 to 2020, he starred in the musical comedy series Perfect Harmony, which ran for one season on NBC.

In August 2023, he portrayed Francis in the Los Angeles production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong.

Personal life

Whitford married actress Jane Kaczmarek in August 1992 and they have three children together. They were sometimes referred to as a celebrity "power couple".

In May 2007, Whitford was honored by Alliance for Justice, a nonprofit organization, as the 2007 Champion of Justice. He delivered the commencement address at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2004. He was the keynote speaker for Class Day at Princeton University in June 2007. As of 2012, Whitford serves on the board of trustees of his alma mater, Wesleyan University.

In June 2009, Whitford and Kaczmarek announced that they were divorcing after almost 17 years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in October 2010. Whitford and his Transparent co-star Amy Landecker began dating in 2015 and they announced their engagement in March 2018. Whitford and Landecker eloped on July 17, 2019.

Political views and activism

Whitford has been said to have "liberal views". He contributed to The Huffington Post as a columnist. He serves on the Board of Advisors of Let America Vote, an organization founded by former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander that aims to end voter suppression. He serves on the advisory board of Citizens' Climate Lobby, an international grassroots environmental group founded by Marshall L. Saunders which trains and supports volunteers to build relationships with their elected representatives in efforts to influence climate policy.

In 2011, Whitford spoke at a protest in his native Madison, Wisconsin, in opposition to Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill. Prior to the 2012 United States elections, Whitford and Courage Campaign founder, Rick Jacobs, appeared together in a video about California's Proposition 30 and Proposition 32; the video encouraged viewers to vote "yes" on the former and "no" on the latter. Leading up to the 2014 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, Whitford visited multiple University of Wisconsin System campuses in support of nominee Mary Burke, who went on to lose against the incumbent, Governor Walker. Whitford supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election. He has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump.

In 2019, he co-hosted a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg alongside actress Gwyneth Paltrow as well as donated to Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign. Also in 2019, Whitford appeared in a public service announcement in support of abortion rights alongside other cast members of The Handmaid's Tale. In 2020, he appeared as part of a series of "surprise virtual appearances" in support of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. He supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election. In September 2025 he was one of over 400 artists who signed an open letter from the American Civil Liberties Union in support of Jimmy Kimmel following ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. In October 2025, he criticized the destruction of the East Wing of the White House in an appearance on CNN.

Filmography

Film

Television

Podcasts

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Bradley Whitford

References

References

1. "Bradley Whitford Biography". [[TV Guide]].
2. to Genevieve Louie {{née. link. (March 27, 2023 . Legacy.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.)
3. Shister, Gail. (June 22, 2000). "'West Wing' Star Finally Took Flight At Age 40". [[Chicago Tribune]].
4. Knutzen, Eirik. (October 17, 1999). "'West Wing' Costar Enjoys Political Role". Morning Call.
5. "Typecasting, meme formats and working with Aaron Sorkin: Q&A with Bradley Whitford".
6. "Bradley Whitford biography". [[The New York Times]].
7. (March 2008). "Alumni News". [[Juilliard School]].
8. Mar, Kylie. (August 8, 2022). "'West Wing' star Bradley Whitford discovers his personal connection to Ulysses S. Grant and the Civil War". Yahoo!.
9. Who Do You Think You Are?. (May 28, 2023). "Actor Bradley Whitford gets emotional learning about his great grandfather's death...".
10. "Bradley Whitford - Who Do You Think You Are?". Ancestry.com.
11. "''A Few Good Men'' production replacements". [[Internet Broadway Database]].
12. (May 16, 2001). "Actor Bradley Whitford".
13. (February 28, 2006). "Spate of pilot castings, pickups". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
14. (May 5, 2008). "Up, Up and Away (and Watch Those Swinging Doors)". [[The New York Times]].
15. (January 21, 2009). "Two feel Joss Whedon's 'Cabin' pressure". The Hollywood Reporter.
16. (September 20, 2011). "Dustin Lance Black Debuts Prop. 8 Play in New York".
17. Moylan, Brian. (September 30, 2014). "How to watch Amazon's ''Transparent'' all in one sitting". [[The Guardian]].
18. (September 12, 2015). "''Transparent'' Wins, Breaking Ground For Trans Characters On TV & Amazon – Creative Arts Emmys".
19. (December 18, 2015). "''Transparent'' Recap: Limerence".
20. Kit, Borys. (February 7, 2014). "Eliza Dushku, Bradley Whitford Join Gregg Allman Biopic". The Hollywood Reporter.
21. (January 13, 2015). "''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' Books Bradley Whitford".
22. (November 21, 2017). "''West Wing'' reunion on ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine''".
23. Rios, Edwin. (February 24, 2017). "''Get Out'' is the horror flick America needs right now". [[Mother Jones (magazine).
24. (June 6, 2017). "Steven Spielberg Pentagon Papers Film Adds Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Matthew Rhys, Bradley Whitford". [[Variety (magazine).
25. Bradley, Laura. (July 11, 2018). "''Handmaid's Tale'' Show-Runner Explains June's Shocking Decision". [[Vanity Fair (magazine).
26. (September 15, 2019). "Bradley Whitford Wins 2019 Guest Drama Actor Emmy". [[Variety (magazine).
27. (October 5, 2018). "Bradley Whitford Returns To ''Handmaid's Tale'' As Series Regular, Books 2 Movies".
28. (September 20, 2020). "Here's a Full List of the 2020 Emmy Nominees". [[The New York Times]].
29. Lee, Ashley. (June 2, 2017). "Bradley Whitford Joins 'Godzilla' Sequel".
30. (June 10, 2020). "''Perfect Harmony'' & ''Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector'' Canceled At NBC".
31. [https://playbill.com/article/peter-pan-goes-wrong-flies-to-los-angeles-beginning-august-8 Peter Pan Goes Wrong Los Angeles]
32. Jordan, Julie. (June 19, 2009). "Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek File for Divorce".
33. "Jane Kaczmarek, babies at age 41, 44 and 46". Chicago Tribune.
34. Steinhauer, Jennifer. (November 12, 2007). "Why Movie Stars Offer the Clothes Off Their Backs". The New York Times.
35. "Here's what the cast of ''Friends'' is up to this week".
36. (May 8, 2005). "Spring commencement: Transcript of address by Bradley Whitford (May 17, 2004)".
37. Greenstein, Jennifer (June 4, 2007). [http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S18/09/85O63/index.xml Princeton University Class Day] {{Webarchive. link. (May 28, 2008 . Princeton.edu. Retrieved September 23, 2011.)
38. "Board of Trustees 2012/2013". [[Wesleyan University]].
39. "Bradley Whitford, Jane Kaczmarek File for Divorce After Nearly 17 Years".
40. (September 9, 2019). "After 'Handmaid's Tale,' Bradley Whitford's ready to lighten up". [[Los Angeles Times]].
41. (November 11, 2015). "Bradley Whitford Calls Relationship with Transparent Costar Amy Landecker 'Spectacular'".
42. Whitford, Bradley. (July 17, 2019). "In a shocking, totally unearned plot twist, Commander Lawrence married Mrs. McKenzie today in Santa Barbara. The shark may have been jumped, but the couple is thrilled.".
43. Whitford, Bradley. "Bradley Whitford profile". [[HuffPost]].
44. "Advisors". Let America Vote.
45. "Citizens' Climate Lobby's Advisory Board".
46. (February 25, 2011). "Protests continuing Friday and Saturday, thousands rallied across the state on Thursday". [[The Capital Times]].
47. "How Wealthy Billionaires are Trying to Destroy our Schools and Silence our Voices". [[Courage Campaign]].
48. "Pledge to Vote Yes on Prop 30, No on Prop 32". [[Courage Campaign]].
49. (October 3, 2014). "Actor Bradley Whitford Visits UW Campuses To Campaign For Mary Burke". [[Wisconsin Public Radio]].
50. (April 5, 2016). "'West Wing' actor: Clinton 'the most qualified candidate' of my lifetime". [[The Hill (newspaper).
51. (September 25, 2019). "West Wing star Bradley Whitford says 'fakest thing' about the show was 'rational Republicans'". [[The Independent]].
52. (December 4, 2019). "Mayor Pete is Hollywood's top pick now that Kamala Harris is out of the presidential race". [[CNBC]].
53. (June 13, 2019). "'Handmaid's Tale' cast films PSA for Planned Parenthood". [[The Hill (newspaper).
54. (October 20, 2020). "How Joe Biden's Campaign Has Mobilized Hollywood With Weekly Zoom Sessions".
55. Kurtz, Judy. (June 18, 2024). "'West Wing' star Bradley Whitford says 'fakest thing' about the show was 'we had rational Republicans'". The Hill.
56. "Q&A: 'The West Wing' star Bradley Whitford wants Madison to vote".
57. Forbes Breaking News. (October 22, 2024). "Bradley Whitford Tees Off On Donald Trump, Urges Voters To Send Him To 'The Dustbin Of History'".
58. Pofahl, Emily. (October 20, 2024). "'The West Wing' cast campaigns for Harris in Wisconsin".
59. "Join the ACLU and Over 400 Artists to Defend Free Speech". [[American Civil Liberties Union]].
60. Bash, Dana. (October 24, 2025). "From 'West Wing' to East Wing: Bradley Whitford on his new role in 'The Diplomat'".
61. (November 7, 2014). "Bradley Whitford, Cherry Jones Cast in Upcoming Hank Williams Movie".
62. "Bradley Whitford (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors.
63. Todd Spangler. (June 1, 2022). "Audible Drops Trailer for 'The Big Lie' Podcast Drama Starring Jon Hamm, Set in '50s Hollywood Blacklist Era". [[Variety (magazine).