Did Martin Sheen get the "West Wing" because of "The American President"?
 

I always wanted to know since the genres are so similar and he was Chief of Staff in AP and then Chief of the nation in WW.

I always thought it was directly because of it. Anyone know for sure?

Most likely, since Sorkin wrote THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT.

I'm not sure how he got it, but several of the same actors from the American President were in the West Wing. Probably because Sorkin wrote both of them. I know that his first choice was Sidney Poitier to be president.

Considering Aaron Sorkin wrote both and produced WW, it is probable.

EDIT: D'oh!

While it would be impossible to say one thing directly caused the other, Sorkin has noted that he enjoyed Sheen's work on <i>The American President</i> and thought he would be great for this role. If I recall, there weren't any auditions or anything. They wanted Sheen, asked him to do it, and he said yes. <i>Why</i> they wanted him was likely due to many factors including <i>The American President</i>.

das

probably
a lot of the supporting cast were in both

Remember also that the initial thought was that the President would rarely appear in West Wing, sort of like the pilot, where Sheen has one scene at the very end.