- Matthew Perry, Friends, TV, 1994-2004. As if anyone else could have been Chandler… Noted in Black Tie Affair, 1993, Whitford was invited to read on March 7, 1994, for what the creators pitched as “searching for love and commitment and security… and a fear of love and commitment and security.”
- Judge Rheinhold, The Santa Clause, 1994. Disney was busy… Eight possibilities for the titular Scott, seven for his ex, Laura – and just five for her new lover, a shrink called Neal Miller: Rheinhold, Jeff Daniels, Peter MacNicol, Stanley Tucci and Whitford, the West Winger-to-be.
- Rob Lowe, The West Wing, TV, 1999-2006. When negotiations with Rob Lowe proved difficult, Whitford was given the role of Sam Seaborn. Not happy, the actor called the creator, Aaron Sorkin, and won Josh back! Lowe didn’t sign on for the series until the day before the pilot began shooting. As with most of the cast, this was Whitford’s finest hour – all seven years of it.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 3