25 Mind-Blowing Facts About The West Wing

11. Rob Lowe Left The Show During The Fourth Season As He Believed Sam Seaborn Was Going To Be The Central Character And Not An Ensemble Player

Rob Lowe took on the role of White House Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn for the first four series due to his love of politics, his personal relationship with Martin Sheen - and because he believed he would be the lead character. The pilot episode had centred on Sam accidentally sleeping with a call girl and the focus had largely been on him - but due to the strength of the rest of the cast then the show became less centralised on Lowe's character as a result.

Lowe and Sorkin both became frustrated over NBC's meddling with Sam's role in the show and how his character acted. When Sorkin and executive-producer Thomas Schlamme quit, Lowe soon followed midway through the fourth series.

Although he returned for two of the final four episodes of the seventh and last series, Lowe revealed on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011 that he left The West Wing because he felt he was being disrespected - with him being overlooked for a raise when other cast members received one.