The West Wing 10 Facts You Didnt Know About President Bartlet

The West Wing: 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About President Bartlet

Martin Sheen’s Jed Bartlet is one of the most iconic television characters of all time. We reveal some surprising facts about The West Wing hero.

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For seven seasons between 1999 and 2006, The West Wing reigned as one of the best series airing on television. A large part of what made this series such an undeniable success, among critics and fans alike, was the prominent role of President Josiah Edward “Jed” Bartlet, as portrayed by the legendary actor Martin Sheen. While the series may have ostensibly concerned itself with the daily operations of the White House and its many staffers, President Bartlet remained the series’ very heart for its entire run.

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Whether he was delivering a moving monologue, embarrassing his staffers or boring them with countless trivia factoids, or imparting meaningful words of advice and support to his nearest and dearest, Jed Bartlet was always a sight to behold. 20 years later, his legacy continues as one of the best characters of the modern era of television. Here, we’re taking a look at some facts about the beloved president that even the most dedicated fans might not know about.

10 He was never originally meant to be featured in the series

As hard as it may be to believe, there was once a point in time when President Bartlet was never meant to feature in the series at all. On the one hand, it’s not that hard to believe, given the fact that the man enigmatically referred to as POTUS within the pilot episode doesn’t appear until a truly grand entrance within the episode’s final moments.

But on the other hand, it’s utterly impossible to imagine what the series would have looked like, had Bartlet remained an unseen figure as show creator Aaron Sorkin once discussed: “I felt that would become hokey. We’ll constantly be just missing the president. As he walks around the corner, we’ll see the back of his head. He’d be like the next-door neighbor on Home Improvement, somehow, and that was going to be silly.”

9 Martin Sheen originally only signed up for four episodes

While Sorkin eventually realized that President Bartlet would need to become an integral part of the series, despite his initial hesitation, it was once entirely possible that the president wouldn’t have had much more than a fleeting role in the series. Martin Sheen is reported to have only originally agreed to appear in a minimum of four episodes in the series’ first season.

Sorkin later considered having Bartlet recur throughout the series, appearing in every other episode. But as the series entered production and it became apparent just how powerful a presence Sheen wielded on set, Sorkin realized that they had found something truly special. And the rest is history.

8 Sheen took much of his inspiration from Bill Clinton

It’s not hard to see how The West Wing drew from the politics of the times for its inspiration for many storylines. One of those clear parallels comes in the form of President Bartlet himself, who was, according to Martin Sheen, “largely drawn from Bill Clinton. … He’s bright, astute, and filled with all the negative foibles that make him very human.”

While Bartlet was a New Hampshire man instead of a man from Arkansas like Clinton, the parallels in their demeanor, their academic persona, their use of humor, and their diplomacy are clearly meant to exist in parallel with one another. Bartlet would likewise experience some scandal as a result of the disclosure of his Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, meant to parallel Clinton’s own public scandals.

7 He was also inspired by John F. Kennedy

As much inspiration as was taken from President Clinton for the creation of Jed’s character, it’s clear that just as much influence was derived from President John F. Kennedy. Both New England born and bred men with learned histories, Bartlet and Kennedy shared their Catholicism and their similar levels of erudition and composure.

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The series also leaned heavily into clear visual parallels between the two men, as countless promotional photos of Jed feature him taking on Kennedyesqsue poses, and one of the shots of his character within the series’ opening credits strikingly resembles a famous portrait of the late president.

6 He was almost in an episode of The X-Files

There have been some pretty odd crossovers in the history of television, but one of the weirdest pairings of all time just barely escaped coming to fruition. During the production of the original series finale of the cult hit science fiction series The X-Files, a scene was considered in which President Jed Bartlet would feature, and the sets from The West Wing itself would also be used.

Producer Frank Spotnitz recalled, “We had hoped to use the West Wing’s Oval Office set. And in fact, we’d even at one point considered asking Martin Sheen who played the president on the West Wing to do this scene, which would have been a nice sort of wink.” Ultimately, a scene was filmed with a George W. Bush lookalike, but the scene was cut from the finale in the end.

5 A fan-run Twitter account has been keeping President Barlet active online since 2010

Shows can be incredibly successful during their initial run but not have any lasting presence after that. It’s all too common, in fact. But it takes some truly special shows to have a fan base that’s active and vocal over a decade after the series wrapped. Even though The West Wing ended in 2006, the fan community of the series is as vibrant as ever online – and one key player has been making that possible.

Ever since 2010, a fan has been running an unofficial President Jed Bartlet Twitter account under the handle @Pres_Bartlet, keeping President Bartlet part of the conversation on matters political, topical, and entertainment related.

4 Other major celebrities were considered for the part

Given the number of intense speeches and shouting matches that President Bartlet engages in, it was clear that the series would need an actor with a true sense of gravitas to inhabit the role. Martin Sheen was clearly the right choice for his character; his six Emmy nominations for the role alone more than attest to that fact.

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But some other truly impressive Hollywood legends were considered during the creation of the character, including Sidney Poitier, Jason Robards, and Alan Alda, who would go on to play Republican presidential candidate Arnold Vinnick in the series’ final years.

3 His Multiple Sclerosis was a last minute choice

It’s one of the defining aspects of his character, and leads to some of his most dramatic storylines within the series’ run: Jed has Multiple Sclerosis, a disability diagnosis that he keeps hidden from the American public, and from most of his closest friends and staffers.

According to Sorkin, however, this plot almost didn’t even exist: “I think it all started because I wanted the president to be in bed watching soap operas. I wanted him, for the first time, to be experiencing daytime dramas. And I had to figure out how he got there. And I didn’t want it to just be the flu. Oh! I also wanted us to discover that Stockard Channing’s character (the first lady) is a doctor and so things just started happening.”

2 Sorkin wrote material for Bartlet during the 2008 and 2012 election cycles

It’s easy to look at a series like The West Wing as a world of wish fulfillment and optimism. But sometimes, the political world could use a little bit of that mixed in along the way. Aaron Sorkin apparently agrees with that general idea, if works he’s produced following the series’ conclusion are anything to go by.

During the presidential campaigns in both 2008 and 2012, Sorkin wrote pieces for the New York Times, consisting of spirited discussions between the now former President Jed Bartlet and President Barack Obama. Jeff Daniels’ character Will McAvoy from Sorkin’s short-lived drama The Newsroom also makes a few colorful appearances in the 2012 edition.

1 He’s often considered one of the best presidents of all time, fictional or otherwise

The West Wing might be a work of fiction, but it’s impossible to ignore the fact that President Bartlet had one of the best tenures of any president in modern memory. With an impressive track record in and out of office, the warmth of a true family man, and a kindness and honesty almost unheard of in the world of politics, Jed is a man practically impossible to feel negatively about.

It’s no surprise, then, that his character frequently finishes at the top of rankings of the best presidents – regardless of whether the rest of the list is fictional or real. There’s a reason, after all, that the phrase “Don’t blame me, I voted for Bartlet” is so often cheekily trotted out following elections, even after all these years.

NEXT: The West Wing: 10 Hidden Details You Never Noticed

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Katerina is a List Writer here at Screen Rant with a background in literary criticism and creative writing. She has been in love with all things film and television since she saw her first movie in theatres at 2.5 years old (Muppet Treasure Island, in case you were wondering). She has a passion for character-driven stories with dynamic but flawed leads, and a special weakness for all things 1980s. If she’s not ranting about characters who deserved better or typing away at one of her many fan fiction epics, she’s probably asleep.

She’s been living in a galaxy far, far away since she was 11 years old, though she makes the occasional stop in Themyscira, Hawkins, and Westeros – and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/west-wing-facts-about-president-bartlet/

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