MONDO EXTRAS

Rose asks Sorkin, "Give me some sense of what you think the value judgment is there in this White House." Sorkin replies, "I'm not sure what you mean...or maybe I am sure what you mean. Even if I'm not, I'll just make it up." He describes the initial perception of the show as being liberal, but that people quickly recognized that the characters were capable of arguing all sides of an issue, and that even if they disagreed with a particular character's position or behaviour, the characters were people who wanted to do right. Rose interrupts to ask whether that's Sorkin's take on the way the White House really is, and whether he feels it's not perceived as such, or whether that's simply the way he wishes it was. Sorkin says right away that he doesn't know how the White House is; Rose counters that he has the assistance of a number of consultants with first-hand experience. Sorkin says that he's nuts about those few people that he does know. He goes on to say, "I think that by and large in American culture, that the President and people who work in government that are leaders, have either been portrayed as Machiavellian or dolts." Rose agrees. Sorkin suggests that he writes it the way he does as a combination of the contacts he's had with political types and his own romantic vision of the way it might be. Rose asks the actors to tell him something they like or find interesting about their characters.

Sheen doesn't hesitate at all before answering, "Heart. His heart. That he has heart." He explains that he thinks Jed takes what he's doing very personally, and that it's going to cost him something to get from here to there. He suggests that Jed balks at times and is propelled forward by the others, especially Leo. He suggests that Leo is the "up-front" guy and the "conscience," and then Janney and Whitford kinda make fun of him for saying that, going, "Awwww..." in an exaggerated way. Sheen kinda trails off, muttering to Whitford, "What's your job?" Whitford says, "I clean your golf clubs." Sheen kind of tries to wrap up what he was saying about Leo, but Rose just barely acknowledges it, having moved on to Spencer. Spencer says that he's "intrigued by Leo's desire to serve." He feels like he can propel his character to do great things, mentioning that Leo possesses a devotion that he himself would love to have in life. He adds that he thinks the intriguing thing about TWW is that it's about people; politics is just a backdrop. Rose agrees. Spencer thinks that viewers love who the characters are, and that they don't normally get to see those sides of political people. Rose states that he thinks that's a mistake on the part of the politicians; Spencer agrees: "You only see the public face, and we show them the private face."