♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY!
WE'RE BACK WITH THE CREATOR AND CAST OF "THE WEST WING," AARON
SORKIN, BRADLEY WHITFORD, ALISON JANNEY, RICHARD SCHIFF
AND MARTIN SHEEN.
EVERYBODY WAS HEARTBROKEN BY THE LOSS OF JOHN SPENCER IN 2005,
AND HIS CHARACTER, LEO, SUCH AN IMPORTANT CHARACTER, HE--
MARTIN, YOUR CHARACTER, JOSIAH BARTLETT, WERE THE MOM AND DAD
OF THAT SHOW.
WHAT DID IT FEEL LIKE "A," WHEN YOU WERE BACK PERFORMING WITH
JOHN SPENCER?
DID YOU GUYS-- WAS THAT THE VIBE FOR YOU AS PERFORMERS, LIKE YOUR
INLUENCE ON THE REST OF THE CAST?
>> YOU KNOW, WELL I-- YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T PROJECT IT INFLUENCE
PER SE, BUT WE JUST TRIED TO ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF WHO
WE WERE IN REAL LIFE.
HE AND I WERE THE OLDEST GUYS.
WE ADORED EACH OTHER.
WE HAD A SIMILAR BACKGROUND IN THEATER OVER IN NEW YORK.
AND I REMEMBER-- MY FAVORITE STORY-- PERSONALLY, I ADORED HIM
AND I STILL MISS HIM, FRANKLY.
AND IT WAS HARD TO GET THROUGH THIS RECENT PERFORMANCE WITHOUT
HIM.
BECAUSE HIS PRESENCE WAS SO POWERFUL.
>> Stephen: HOW DID YOU-- HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH THAT.
>> I REMEMBER -- >> Stephen: I'M SORRY, FINISH
YOUR STORY.
>> ... ALLISON JANNEY REVEALED SOME YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE
STILL DOING THE SHOW, SHE WAS DOING AN INTERVIEW WITH A
REPORTER WHO SAID, WELL, 'THE WEST WING' IS ALL WELL AND GOOD
BUT THERE'S NO LOVE INTEREST."
AND ALLISON SAID, "OF COURSE THERE IS."
AND HE SAID, "BETWEEN WHO?
AND SHE SAID, "BETWEEN JOHN AND MARTIN, OF COURSE."
>> Stephen: I LOVE IT.
I LOVE IT.
I TOTALLY AGREE.
LEO IS IN THIS EPISODE.
AARON, HOW ARE YOU DEALING WITH THE LOSS OF JOHN SPENCER?
>> FIRST, I JUST WANT TO DISAGREE WITH MARTIN WHEN HE
SAYS NEITHER HE NOR JOHN HAD ANY INFLUENCE OVER THE REST OF THE
CAST.
OF COURSE THEY DID.
THE REST OF THE CAST-- YOU KNOW, JOHN AND MARTIN SET THE BAR.
THE REST OF THE CAST ABSOLUTELY DIDN'T WANT TO DISAPPOINT THEM,
AND THEY WERE VERY HAPPY TO BE WORKING WITH THESE TWO GIANTS.
WE NEEDED AN ACTOR TO PLAY LEO.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE WANTED IT TO BE SOMEBODY THAT WE KNEW, THAT
JOHN WOULD ADMIRE.
AND SO WE GOT STERLING KAY BROWN.
>> Stephen: OH, WOW.
WOW.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: I-- I IMAGINE THAT WAS-- THAT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR
HIM TO STEP INTO.
GOOD FOR HIM.
>> OH, HE DID IT BEAUTIFULLY, THOUGH.
HE ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE, AND IT WAS JUST BRILLIANT.
AND I-- IT WAS MY FIRST TIME WORKING WITH HIM, AND I ADORED
HIM.
I THINK HE WAS A GREAT-- I THINK JOHN WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF
WHAT STERLING DID.
>> I DID A LITTLE ZOOM REHEARSAL WITH HIM, AND I JUST-- I
COULDN'T GET THROUGH IT.
I-- I-- I STARTED TO CRY BECAUSE-- BECAUSE IT WAS LEO AND
IT WAS AN ACTOR WHO-- WHO LIVED UP TO THE STATURE OF JOHN.
SO I THINK-- IT WAS-- IT WAS GREAT TO WORK WITH STERLING.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: THIS EPISODE IS ACTUALLY ABOUT REELECTION,
BASICALLY HOW IS PRESIDENT BARTLETT GOING TO RUN THIS TIME?
RICHARD, WHAT IS THAT EPISODE MEAN TODAY?
YOU KNOW, 18 YEARS LATER, HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE THAT STORY IN THE
LIGHT OF OUR PRESENT CAMPAIGN?
>> YOU KNOW, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE WHEN I FIRST
READ THIS YEARS AGO, I'VE NEVER-- I HAD NEVER SEEN THE
EPISODE AFTER WE SHOT IT.
WHEN I FIRST READ THE EPISODE YEARS AGO, I THOUGHT, WELL, THIS
IS AN ODE TO DEMOCRACY, YOU KNOW, THAT EVERY LITTLE VOTE IN
EVERY SMALL TOWN MATTERS.
AND-- AND HOW LOVELY IT IS THAT YOU ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO BE AT
THEIR VERY BEST AND TO BE THEMSELVES.
WHEN I-- WHEN I READ IT NOW, 20-- 15 YEARS LATER-- WHENEVER
IT IS-- IT BROUGHT ME TO TEARS.
I WAS ALMOST DEVASTATED BY IT, BECAUSE GIVEN THE STATE OF OUR
DEMOCRACY AND THE THREAT TO-- AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO IT,
READING THIS BEAUTIFUL ODE TO VOTING AND TO BEING THE BEST
PERSON YOU COULD BE WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING FOR THAT OFFICE WAS SO
TOUCHING TO ME.
I DIDN'T THINK THAT I'D BE ABLE TO GET THROUGH IT.
IT'S JUST SO MUCH MORE POIGNANT TODAY WITH THIS THREAT HANGING
OVER US THAN IT WAS JUST A BEAUTIFUL EPISODE 15 OR 17 YEARS
AGO.
>> Stephen: DID ANY OF YOU WATCH THE SHOW?
>> YOU KNOW, I WOULD WATCH THE SHOW WHEN IT AIRED, WEDNESDAY
NIGHTS AT 9:00.
AND THEN I WOULDN'T WATCH IT AGAIN.
I DIDN'T-- I LOOKED AT "HARTSFIELD LANDING" AGAIN A
MONTH OR SO AGO WHEN WE WERE PUTTING THIS TOGETHER, AND I
NEEDED TO CHOOSE AN EPISODE.
BUT I DON'T LIKE TO WATCH THEM AGAIN FOR FEAR THAT IT'S NOT
GOING TO LIVE UP TO MY MEMORY, THAT IT WASN'T AS GOOD AS I
THOUGHT IT WAS.
AND I HAVE TO SAY, WATCHING "HARTSFIELD LANDING," THESE GUYS
WERE ALWAYS GOOD, BUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, THEY JUST ALL THE
BAT ON THE BALL, AND EVERYTHING WORKED IN THAT EPISODE.
AND LIKE I SAID, IN THIS NEW ITERATION, AS A PLAY, WHICH IS--
WHICH IS WHAT TOMMY DREAMED UP, A PLAY WHICH IS THEN FILMED-- IT
STILL WORKS.
NO PROBLEM 20 YEARS LATER.
WE COULD HAVE AIRED THE EPISODE LAST WEEK.
>> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK.
STICK AROUND WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE OF "THE WEST WING."
♪ ♪ ♪