Martin Sheen, Mr. President

Martin Sheen is no stranger to portraying political figures. He starred as Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in the 1974 television movie “Missiles of October,” graduated into the highest office as Prsident John F. Kennedy in the 1983 miniseries “Kennedy” and also served as the Commander-in-Chief in the 1997 miniseries “Medusa’s Child.” So it should come as no surprise his latest project--and first TV series--casts him as a politician: President Josiah Bartlet in NBC’s “The West Wing.” The new drama series is from Emmy Award nominee Aaron Sorkin, the creator of the ABC comedy, “Sports Night,” who also wrote the screenplay for the 1995 film “An American President,” and Emmy winner John Wells, the guiding hand behind “ER”.

Bartlet is a former Democratic governor. He is brilliant and deeply devoted to what he believes is right. And, in a surprising twist given the current political climate, he’s scandal-free.

Rob Lowe, Moira Kelley, John Spencer and Allison Janney also star in the drama.

The 59-year-old actor, who has starred in such film classics as “Apocalypse Now,” “The Subject Was Roses” and TV’s groundbreaking “That Certain Summer,” talked about “The West Wing.”

Q: Did you opt to do show because of John Wells and Aaron Sorkin?

A: Those two names were the main reason. But when I originally contracted to do it, the president’s role was a small one. [Originally] he would kind of come in at the end of the day and sew things up a little bit, make some decisions and that would be it. You have to make your deal before the pilot is made so I contracted to do four if they got picked up. We started working and gosh, I had such a good time and was impressed with the people and the show. After we did the pilot, . . . [the producers] said, “Look, would you consider enlarging the role? We are thinking the president should be more on an equal footing with the rest of the staff.” I said, “Absolutely. I think so, too.”

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Q: What’s this president like?

A: He’s a bit too conservative for me, but I still love him. He’s an extremely bright guy, not unlike Mr. Clinton, who may be one of the brightest guys ever to occupy that office. [Bartlet] also is a devoted family man. He has been married to the same woman for 35 years, has children and grandchildren. He was a two-time governor from New Hampshire. Incidentally, the only president from New Hampshire in real life was Franklin Pierce in the 1850s.

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Q: Why did this particular role intrigue you?

A: I have a great interest in the presidency and some of the men who occupied it. It is such an institution. It’s bigger than the men who have been president. It’s one office that belongs to the people. It is the only federal office that the people vote for and it’s the only federal officer who is responsible to the people.

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Q: Because of your political convictions, did you ever think of running for office or for president?

A: No. The republic is quite safe. I am a pacifist, and I couldn’t serve.

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Q: In the first episode, your character takes on the religious right. Will there be more hot-button issues?

A: In this episode [shooting now], we are dealing with gun control legislation. We are dealing with the process of the president pushing a bill through Congress, the arm-twisting, the politics of how a bill has gotten on the books and how so many sections are compromised and bargained off. We’ve done a response to a terrorist attack where I call in a massive bombing on an Arab country, which did not please me, I must say.

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Q: Did you discuss the fact you felt uncomfortable as a pacifist doing this?

A: Oh, yeah. It is so far from me. This guy, he has a lot of great qualities and he’s a very liberal man on most domestic issues, but when it comes to the military he’s pretty conservative. I had some trepidation.

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Q: Is Aaron Sorkin writing most of the scripts?

A: He’s very dominant! Extremely dominant and rightly so. He has a very strong point of view, but he also has a great heart and keen mind and a very sharp wit. So [those qualities] are all present in all of the characters. There is not a dull sailor on board.

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Q: Given the very political nature of series, how do you think audiences will respond to “The West Wing”?

A: I think they are going to be furious from week to week and happy from week to week. They are going to be lukewarm with some episodes and red hot with others. We are going to draw a lot of heat. I think we are going to try to draw some heat. That’s fair enough. That’s fine. I am all for a fair fight, as long as we are honest about it.

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“The West Wing” airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. on NBC.