Often cast as WASPs, the boyishly handsome, auburn-haired Bradley Whitford had appeared in a succession of supporting parts in features since the mid-1980s. Bitten with the acting bug in high school, the Wisconsin-born actor studied his craft at Wesleyan University and Juilliard before making his professional debut in the leading role of the low-budget thriller "Doorman" (1986). He was subsequently picked by director William Friedkin for "C.A.T. Squad", a 1986 NBC TV-movie. Whitford acted in both the New York and Los Angeles productions of Sam Shepard's "The Curse of the Starving Class"; his West Coast stint leading to his casting as Jack Ford opposite Gena Rowlands in the 1987 ABC biopic "The Betty Ford Story". That same year, he was the boyfriend of Elisabeth Shue whose cancellation of their date leads to her "Adventures in Babysitting".
Returning to New York, Whitford immersed himself in theater roles, including regional productions of Shakespearean classics and replacing Tom Hulce in the Broadway production of "A Few Good Men". With a slightly higher profile, he returned to features as a surgical resident and rival of Adrian Pasdar's in "Vital Signs", a small role in "Presumed Innocent" and a doctor in "Awakenings" (all 1990). He subsequently could be seen as Al Pacino's brother-in-law in "Scent of a Woman" (1992), as a lawyer in "Philadelphia" (1993), a sharpshooter assisting Clint Eastwood in "A Perfect World" (also 1993) and as the heir-apparent Adam Sandler must thwart in "Billy Madison" (1995). He had a major role supporting Richard Gere and Bai Ling in the political thriller "Red Corner" (1997).
The small screen has offered the actor several meaty roles, including a world-weary private eye opposite Kate Capshaw in the short-lived "Black Tie Affair" (NBC, 1993), a recurring role on "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1994) and as a man coping with the complications of his wife's pregnancy on the Emmy-winning "Love's Labor's Lost" episode of the hit NBC series "ER" (1995). He displayed his comedic gifts as one of three divorced buddies in the ABC sitcom "The Secret Lives of Men" (1998) which unfortunately tanked with audiences. Whitford fared better as a presidential deputy chief of staff in the NBC political drama "The West Wing" (1999- ), earning an Emmy for the role in 2001 and another nomination in 2002.