Will Bailey
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| William Bailey | |
|---|---|
 Joshua Malina as Will Bailey |
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| First appearance | Game On |
| Last appearance | Tomorrow spoilers below |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Wilde Campaign Manager (Season 4), Deputy White House Communications Director (Seasons 4-5), Chief of Staff to the Vice President (Seasons 5-6, briefly 7), Russell Campaign Manager (Season 6), White House Communications Director and Press Secretary (Season 7) |
| Portrayed by | Joshua Malina |
| Created by | Aaron Sorkin and Paul Redford |
William 'Will' Bailey, is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama The West Wing, holding various posts in the White House Office of Communications.
Will grew up in Belgium, as his father was the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Thomas Bailey, in whose ideological footsteps he seems to follow while making a name for himself with quiet resolve. Will is also an Air Force reservist, a fact that President Josiah Bartlet applauds. He may have attended Carnegie Mellon University, since he was seen wearing a Carnegie Mellon shirt while jogging at Camp David. He appears also to have attended the University of Cambridge, England, since he claims he was "President of Cambridge Union Society" on a Marshall Scholarship. He mentions in one episode that he was valedictorian at Eton College.
Will was originally introduced as the manager of the Horton Wilde campaign to represent California's 47th Congressional District, and gained notoriety for winning the election despite Wilde's death. Sam Seaborn later ran in Wilde's place in a special election and recommended Will as his replacement as Deputy White House Communications Director with a note to Toby Ziegler that read: "Toby — He's one of us." Toby, after first meeting him, characterized Will as "deeply schooled in Eastern philosophy".
When Will moved into Sam's old office for a temporary three-week contract to help with Bartlet's second inaugural address, he had to endure the requisite amount of hazing from the White House senior staff, including "Seaborn For Congress" posters plastered on the walls and people parking their bicycles in his office. He slowly began to win everyone over, and Bartlet eventually appointed him to replace Sam as Deputy White House Communications Director.
Will left President Bartlet's staff soon after the appointment of Representative Bob Russell (D-Colo.) as Vice President of the United States, when he accepted Russell's offer to become his chief of staff. The main reasons for his move to Russell's office were Toby's gruff attitude as his direct superior, and more significantly, a belief that Toby's tendency to personally take charge of challenges for the Communications Office would result in zero potential for Will's own job growth. Bob Russell's offer, in contrast, came with the explicit challenge to prepare the Vice President for a possible presidential campaign in 2006. When Russell lost the Democratic nomination to U.S. Rep. Matt Santos (D-Tex.), Bailey remained on Russell's staff until White House Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg "dragooned" him on very short notice to become White House Communications Director after the firing of Toby Ziegler for his role in the military space shuttle leak.
Toward the end of the series he dated Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper.
By the time of the dedication of the Bartlet Presidential Library in New Hampshire three years later, Will is a Congressman representing Oregon's 4th Congressional District (the seeds of which are sown in the series finale "Tomorrow") and sits on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. He describes himself as a "back bencher who may have a shot at chairman in 32 years."
| The Bartlet Administration | ||
|---|---|---|
| The President: Josiah Bartlet First Lady: Abigail Bartlet |
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| The Vice President John Hoynes (Seasons 1–4) Bob Russell (Seasons 5–7) Chief of Staff to the Vice President Will Bailey (Seasons 5–7) Chief of Staff to the First Lady Amy Gardner (Seasons 4–5) National Security Advisor Nancy McNally (Seasons 2–7) Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper (Seasons 5–7) Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Percy Fitzwallace (Seasons 1–5) General Nicholas Alexander (Seasons 6–7) |
White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (Seasons 1–6) C.J. Cregg (Seasons 6–7) Assistant to the Chief of Staff Margaret Hooper (Seasons 1–7) Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Seasons 1–6) Clifford Calley (Seasons 6-7) Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff Donna Moss (Seasons 1–6) Presidential Secretary Delores Landingham (Seasons 1–2) Deborah Fiderer (Seasons 4–7) Personal Aide to the President Charlie Young (Seasons 1–6) Curtis Carruthers (Seasons 6-7) |
White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler (Seasons 1–7) Will Bailey (Season 7) Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Seasons 1–4) Will Bailey (Seasons 4–5) White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Seasons 1–5) Deputy Press Secretary Annabeth Schott (Season 6) Media Director Mandy Hampton (Season 1) |
| These are some of the main characters on The West Wing. For a longer and more complete list of characters, see List of characters on The West Wing. |
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