It’s unusual for actors to share the screen on two political dramas separated by nearly three decades. Rarer still is the chance for both performers to portray characters who are nearly killed in assassination attempts. Allison Janney and Bradley Whitford have now experienced exactly that distinction.
**Spoiler alert for The Diplomat Season 4, now streaming on Netflix**
In the latest season of Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series, Janney plays President Grace Penn, who is leaving Windsor Castle with her husband, Todd Penn (Whitford), and several others when a sniper shoots her in the abdomen. The attack sparks widespread panic and sets off a chain of damaging events that unfolds across the season. For fans of The West Wing, the moment may feel familiar: Whitford’s Josh Lyman was also shot in the stomach during the NBC drama’s assassination storyline, alongside President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen). Nearly 30 years after Janney and Whitford first worked together, what was it like to revisit that history from opposite sides? Whitford admits he never expected it to happen.
“No, I know, we’re both in jeopardy,” Whitford tells DECIDER with a laugh. “Allison and I, we were talking yesterday, we realized, yeah, we both got shot.” The storyline immediately reminded him of his West Wing experience, particularly the uncertainty he felt when Josh was the one lying on the operating table. “First thing, when you’re an actor on a show and you get shot, you really wonder if you still have a job,” he says.
This time, Whitford finds himself in the position Janney occupied during The West Wing’s shooting arc. As C.J. Cregg, Janney played the concerned White House figure waiting for news and offering support while the injured characters were treated. Whitford says both perspectives bring their own challenges, but he found playing the victim more difficult. At the same time, Grace’s shooting carries wider consequences for The Diplomat, affecting not only Todd but the direction of the entire series.
“It’s definitely harder to, you know, to go through that ache,” Whitford says. He adds that Todd’s concerns echo some of what Josh experienced, particularly his fear that Grace has not fully processed what happened. “Are you dealing? Has your judgment been distorted in response to not only your sudden rise to the presidency, but this extraordinary trauma?”
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As the season progresses, the situation becomes increasingly volatile. Grace rejects the support she plainly needs, while Todd travels thousands of miles to London in an attempt to keep his distance. Unlike the long-term psychological fallout from Josh’s shooting in The West Wing, The Diplomat links Grace’s trauma directly to the stability of her marriage and the choices she makes on the world stage. That tension raises difficult questions about how such a crisis might be handled outside television.
“It’s an even more complicated question because I am saying to a woman, ‘Are you sure you’re not reacting emotionally to this?’ And so that’s a really interesting question,” Whitford explains. He points to the public response after Ronald Reagan was shot, when attention quickly shifted from fear for the president’s life to admiration for his courage and resilience. That history, he says, made him consider how the same circumstances might be viewed through the lens of gender. Grace is aware of the implication, even as Todd believes he has legitimate reasons to worry that her judgment has been affected while she makes increasingly dangerous geopolitical decisions.
Those tensions drive the season toward its explosive finale. Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), Vice President Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), White House Chief of Staff Billie Appiah (Nana Mensah) and Secretary of State Miguel Ganon (Miguel Sandoval) leave the G7 Summit in protest of Grace’s actions. For a brief moment, it appears Todd might join them. Whitford says the possibility was considered, even if his character ultimately struggles to take that step.
“I think he’s thinking about it, but I think it’s an impossible step for him to take,” Whitford says. “I can tell you, we read that episode and we were like, ‘Oh my God.’”
The Diplomat and The West Wing are both streaming on Netflix.
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