Name	Brad Whitford
Height	5' 11"
Naionality	American
Date of Birth	10 October 1959
Place of Birth	Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Famous for

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).

Growing up in Wisconsin, Whitford spent his youth at a decidedly slower pace. He went on to study 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 Glass," with Kathy Bates. Ironically, he also starred in the Broadway production of "The West Wing" and in 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/I), Red Corner (1997), Presumed Innocent (1990) and My Fellow Americans (1996).

Whitford lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Jane Kaczmarek ("Malcolm in the Middle" (2000)) and their children, Frances, George, and Mary. His birthday is October 10.A former waiter at "Panarellas" at 84th & Columbus, in New York City, Bradley Whitford, who was stung by the acting bug in high school, made his professional acting debut with a guest spot in an October 1985 episode of CBS' action-adventure series starring British actor Edward Woodward, "The Equalizer." He followed it up with the lead role of Terry Reilly, a 30-something doorman who begins a private investigation, in Gary Youngman's low-budget thriller film Dead as a Doorman (1986). Afterward, he starred in the NBC action-drama TV-movie C.A.T. Squad (1986) and portrayed Jack Ford in the ABC Golden Globe-winning biopic about the widow of former United States President Gerald R. Ford, The Betty Ford Story (1987; starring Gena Rowlands).

In 1990, Whitford debuted on Broadway, succeeding Tom Hulce in the starring role in Aaron Sorkin's "A Few Good Men." He was cast as Al Pacino's brother-in-law in Martin Brest's drama comedy Scent of A Woman (1992), adapted from Giovanni Arpino’s novel Il Buio E Il Miele ("Darkness and Honey") and from Dino Risi’s 1974 movie Profumo Di Donna, before starring as Dave Brodsky in the brief-lived NBC sitcom "Black Tie Affair" (1993; a.k.a. Smoldering Lust). He also played a recurring role on four 1994 episodes of the ABC cop drama "NYPD Blue" and appeared as the husband of a pregnant woman in the Emmy-winning "Love's Labor's Lost" episode of the popular NBC medical drama "ER."

Following his significant supporting role in Jon Avnet's high-stakes thriller Red Corner (1997; starring Richard Gere and Bai Ling), Whitford starred opposite Elizabeth Perkins as a couple who loses their 8 year old son in a boating accident in the sci-fi drama/thriller TV-movie Cloned (1997). The next year, he co-starred in the ABC short-lived sitcom "The Secret Lives of Men," alongside Peter Gallagher and Mitch Rouse.

1999 proved to be Whitford’s breakout year when he joined the cast of NBC’s political drama series "The West Wing." In the long-running series, set in the West Wing of the White House, he portrayed Josh Lyman (1999-2006), the witty, somewhat cocky, boyishly charming know-it-all Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen) administration. The role won him an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2001) and two Screen Actors Guild awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2001 and 2002).

During his lengthy seven-year stint in "The West Wing," Whitford also co-starred opposite Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman in James Mangold's romantic comedy Kate & Leopold (2001) and did a TV Commercial for M & M's in 2002. He was also seen as the father of America Ferrera's Carmen in Ken Kwapis' coming-of-age film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), adapted from the bestselling young adult novels by Ann Brashares.

In 2006, Whitford rejoined "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin on NBC’s "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," playing the starring role of Danny Tripp, a recovering crack addict-turned-producer/director. Recently, on February 17, 2007, the Golden Globe-nominated show-within-a-show, which also stars Matthew Perry, was pulled from NBC's lineup.

Meanwhile, on January 19, 2007, Whitford's latest film, An American Crime, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The true story-based film, which is directed by Tommy O'Haver and stars Catherine Keener and Ellen Page, will be released in selected theaters sometime in August of 2007.