Leo McGarry

Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White House Chief of Staff. He is President Josiah Bartlet's best friend and a father figure to the Senior Staff, particularly Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Ly... More

Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White House Chief of Staff. He is President Josiah Bartlet's best friend and a father figure to the Senior Staff, particularly Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman. In crafting the character of Leo McGarry, series creator Aaron Sorkin says he envisioned John Spencer in the part but had not imagined he would be available. Although he had recently decided he did not want to do another TV drama series due to the long hours, Spencer was so impressed by the pilot script that he took the part. Like the character, Spencer was a recovering alcoholic, and said he found he could relate to McGarry because "Leo's in recovery, too." In an earlier draft of the pilot script, dated February 6, 1998, McGarry is...

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