Bio: Bradley Whitford's credits in film, television and theater include work with some of the most noted writers, directors and playwrights in the arts, and constitute a career worthy of a Juilliard-trained actor -- which he is. But stardom is something else altogether, and it remained elusive, at least until 1999 and his appearance on NBC's acclaimed political drama, The West Wing (1999).Bradley Whitford was born in Madison, Wisconsin, to Genevieve Smith Whitford, a poet and writer, and George Van Norman Whitford. He studied theater and English literature at Wesleyan University and earned a master's degree in theater from the prestigious Juilliard Theater Center. Whitford's first professional performance was in the off-Broadway production of "Curse of the Starving Class," with Kathy Bates. He also starred in the Broadway production of "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin's "A Few Good Men." His additional theater credits include "Three Days of Rain" at the Manhattan Theatre Club, "Measure for Measure" at the Lincoln Center, and the title role in "Coriolanus" at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C.Some of Whitford's most memorable performances include roles in such films as The Muse (1999) with Albert Brooks and Bicentennial Man (1999) with Robin Williams. He has also appeared in Scent of a Woman (1992), A Perfect World (1993), Philadelphia (1993), The Client (1994), My Life (1993), Red Corner (1997), Presumed Innocent (1990), and My Fellow Americans (1996). He also had a prominent supporting part in the horror thriller Get Out (2017), as a suspicious suburban father.
Tivia: His college roommate and best friend was the brother of his future co-star on The West Wing (1999), Richard Schiff.He and his ex-wife, Jane Kaczmarek, have three children: Frances Whitford was born in January 1997; George Whitford was born on December 23, 1999 and Mary Louisa Whitford was born on November 25, 2002.Played a Republican Chief of Staff in My Fellow Americans (1996) and a Democratic Deputy Chief of Staff in The West Wing (1999).Is close friends with Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006) co-star Matthew Perry.Graduated Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut), 1981. Attended Juilliard.Founded the charity "Clothes off our Back" (http://www.clothesoffourback.org) with his wife, Jane Kaczmarek, in 2002. Clothes off our Back run on-line auctions after major awards shows where celebrities' gowns and tuxedos, and other articles of clothing, are auctioned off. The proceeds go to children's charities such as Cure Autism Now (http://www.cureautismnow.org) and The Children's Defense Fund (http://www.childrensdefense.org/)If he could change one thing about his life, he would have started dancing when he was young.Classmates at The Juilliard School Group 14 with Thomas Gibson, Michel Gill, and Wendell Pierce.Gave the commencement speech at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2004. His wife is a distinguished alumnus of UW-Madison; he graduated from Madison East High School.Was in The Client (1994) with Mary-Louise Parker, who later played his love interest on The West Wing (1999).Traveling around Ohio and Wisconsin as a political surrogate for President Barack Obama, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), US Senate candidate Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), and others. (October 2012)Graduated June 4, 1977, from Madison East High School in Madison, Wisconsin.As of 2018, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Awakenings (1990), Scent of a Woman (1992), Get Out (2017) and The Post (2017).Waited tables at "Panarellas" at 84th & Columbus, New York City.He is of English, German, Scottish, Irish, and Dutch descent. Many of his family lines trace back to New England (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont) of the 1600s.California - Participating in a video in favor of CA Ballot Proposition 30, a CA Constitutional Amendment to temporarily increase income and sales taxes for education and public safety funding. (September 2012)Son of George Van Norman Whitford and Genevieve Smith Whitford, a poet and writer.Starring in "Boeing Boeing" on Broadway. (June 2008)Actor Daniel von Bargen has coincidentally appeared with husband and wife actors Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford in four different projects. Along with Kaczmarek, he appeared in Malcolm in the Middle (2000). With Whitford, he was in RoboCop 3 (1993), Philadelphia (1993) and The West Wing (1999).Starring as "Detective Dan Stark" in the television series The Good Guys (2010). (May 2010)Working on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006), a new show set to premiere on NBC in the fall. (June 2006)