Bradley Whitford
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Bradley Whitford, born October 10th, 1959, is an American actor and producer whose career spans decades, gracing both the small and big screens with his remarkable talent. From 1999 to 2006, he captivated audiences as Josh Lyman, the sharp and dedicated White House Deputy Chief of Staff, in NBC's acclaimed political drama, *The West Wing*. His masterful portrayal earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2001, a testament to his undeniable skill.
But Whitford's versatility extends far beyond the halls of the White House. He charmed us as Danny Tripp in *Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip*, brought a gritty authenticity to Dan Stark in the Fox police buddy-comedy *The Good Guys*, and kept us on the edge of our seats as Timothy Carter, a character once believed to be the elusive Red John, in CBS's *The Mentalist*. He’s also a formidable presence in film, taking on the antagonist Eric Gordon in the comedy *Billy Madison*, embodying Arthur Parsons in the political thriller *The Post*, and delivering a chilling performance as Dean Armitage in the horror hit *Get Out*. Further showcasing his range, he’s been Roger Peralta in the beloved sitcom *Brooklyn Nine-Nine*, President Gray in the dystopian sci-fi film *The Darkest Minds*, and Rick Stanton in the epic monster flick *Godzilla: King of the Monsters*.
His talent for guest roles has also been recognized with significant accolades. In 2015, he secured a second Primetime Emmy Award for his memorable turn as Marcy in the groundbreaking series *Transparent*. He later earned a fifth Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Magnus Hirschfeld in the same show. From 2018 to 2025, Whitford commanded the screen as Commander Joseph Lawrence in Hulu's gripping dystopian drama, *The Handmaid's Tale*, a role that garnered him his third Primetime Emmy Award in 2019.
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Bradley Whitford’s early life was shaped by a Quaker household. He spent his formative years in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and later spoke of a wonderfully unique family, with parents who lived long lives and a much older sister who helped raise him. His mother, a poet, eventually settled in Philadelphia.
Whitford’s academic journey led him to Madison East High School, graduating in 1977. He then pursued English and theater at Wesleyan University, where he shared a room with producer Paul Schiff, the brother of his future *West Wing* co-star, Richard Schiff. Graduating in 1981, he further honed his craft at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, becoming part of "Group 14," which also included actor Wendell Pierce. His ancestry was even explored on the NBC series *Who Do You Think You Are?* in 2022, revealing ancestors who fought in the pivotal American Civil War battle of Vicksburg.
Whitford’s professional journey began with television appearances in the mid-1980s, including a recurring role on the ABC daytime drama *All My Children*. His film debut arrived in 1986 with *Dead as a Doorman*. He made his Broadway debut in 1990, playing Lt. Jack Ross and later the lead role of Lt. Daniel Kaffee in Aaron Sorkin’s play *A Few Good Men*, marking the start of a significant creative partnership.
Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Whitford built an impressive filmography, appearing in films like *Adventures in Babysitting*, *Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise*, *Presumed Innocent*, *Young Guns II*, *Awakenings*, *Scent of a Woman*, *A Perfect World*, *Philadelphia*, and *The Client*. He also took on memorable roles in *Billy Madison* and *Bicentennial Man*. His television work during this period included guest spots on *Guiding Light*, *NYPD Blue*, *Ellen*, *The X-Files*, *Touched by an Angel*, and an Emmy-winning appearance on *ER* in the episode "Love's Labor Lost."
The premiere of *The West Wing* in 1999 marked a pivotal moment, casting Whitford as the unforgettable Josh Lyman. Beyond his acting, he also contributed as a writer for two episodes of the series. Following *The West Wing's* conclusion in 2006, he reunited with Aaron Sorkin for *Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip* and appeared in the British drama *Burn Up*.
Whitford’s stage work continued with the Broadway production of *Boeing-Boeing* in 2008. He co-starred in the cult horror film *The Cabin in the Woods* and starred as Dan Stark in the Fox comedy *The Good Guys*. He also made memorable guest appearances on *In Plain Sight* and *The Mentalist*, where he played a significant role in the "Red John" storyline. His legal acumen was showcased on *Law & Order: Los Angeles*, and he participated in a notable staged reading of the play *8*.
In 2013, he appeared in the ABC comedy *Trophy Wife* and the film *Saving Mr. Banks*. His work on Amazon Studios' *Transparent* as a cross-dressing businessman earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, a role he reprised later in the series. He also took on the recurring role of Roger Peralta, father of Jake Peralta, in *Brooklyn Nine-Nine*, and delivered standout performances in *Get Out* and *The Post*.
His impactful role as President Gray in *The Darkest Minds* and his later, more substantial role as Commander Joseph Lawrence in *The Handmaid's Tale* further solidified his status as a respected actor. His Emmy win for *The Handmaid's Tale* made him the first to win guest acting Emmys in both comedy and drama. He also lent his voice to the monster film *Godzilla: King of the Monsters* and starred in the musical comedy series *Perfect Harmony*. In 2023, he graced the stage again in the Los Angeles production of *Peter Pan Goes Wrong*.
Bradley Whitford was married to actress Jane Kaczmarek from August 1992 until their divorce was finalized in October 2010. They are the parents of three children and co-founded the foundation "Clothes off our Back." Since 2015, Whitford has been in a relationship with actress Amy Landecker, announcing their engagement in 2018 and eloping in 2019.
Whitford has been recognized for his activism, honored by the Alliance for Justice in 2007 as a Champion of Justice. He has delivered commencement addresses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and served as keynote speaker at Princeton University. He also sits on the board of trustees for his alma mater, Wesleyan University.
Known for his "liberal views," Whitford has been a vocal advocate for various causes. He has contributed to The Huffington Post and serves on the Board of Advisors for Let America Vote, an organization dedicated to ending voter suppression. He is also on the advisory board of Citizens' Climate Lobby, an environmental group focused on influencing climate policy.
In 2011, he spoke out against Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill in Wisconsin. He has actively supported political campaigns, including those of Mary Burke and Hillary Clinton, and has been a prominent critic of Donald Trump. In 2019, he co-hosted a fundraiser for Pete Buttigieg and appeared in a public service announcement supporting abortion rights. He also participated in virtual appearances supporting Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign and has continued to support Biden and Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. In 2025, he was among over 400 artists who signed an open letter in support of Jimmy Kimmel and publicly criticized the destruction of the East Wing of the White House.
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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, to Genevieve Louie née Smith and George Van Norman Whitford. Between the ages of three and 14, he lived in Wayne, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a Quaker household. 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. In June 2009, the couple announced that they were divorcing after almost 17 years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in October 2010. In 2002 they had co-founded the foundation "Clothes off our Back". They had previously been known for their frequent public appearances together at awards shows, charity events and in other media including a print car advertisement, last appearing together with their children at the premiere of Kaczmarek's 2008 appearance in The House of Blue Leaves.
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.
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.
== 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, the 45th and 47th U.S. president.
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 ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Bradley Whitford at IMDb
Bradley Whitford at the Internet Broadway Database
Bradley Whitford at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
Bradley Whitford on Twitter
Bradley Whitford on Instagram
Bradley Whitford on Bluesky
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