The West Wing Cast: Where Are They Now?

It cannot be understated how huge of a show M*A*S*H was in the United States. Its eleven season run was actually three times longer than the Korean War against which it was set and Alan Alda holds the distinction of being the only actor to appear in all 256 episodes. He gained a degree of creative control over time, which didn’t sit well with all of his co-stars but did give him a platform to speak out on political issues close to him.

Once rumoured to run for the U.S. Senate, Alda instead continued exclusively in the acting profession in the two decades between M*A*S*H’s conclusion and being signed up to play the role of Republican Presidential nominee Arnold Vinick on the West Wing.

Having initially been considered (alongside Sidney Poitier) for the role of President Bartlet before Martin Sheen was offered the role, Alda and Jimmy Smits, who played his Democratic counterpart, offered the world something of a preview of the then-forthcoming 2008 election, as a seasoned Western state Republican with a reputation for bilateralism took on a young up-and-comer from a minority background.

Always in demand on television, Alda followed his West Wing run with Emmy-nominated appearances in 30 Rock and the Blacklist, most recently appearing on Showtime’s criminally cancelled Ray Donovan. On film, he appeared in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge Of Spies and 2019’s critically acclaimed Marriage Story, but has nothing on his immediate future slate.