Actor Bradley Whitford heaped praise on his West Wing costars and crew ahead of the drama's 25th anniversary.
Some of the cast of the NBC political series, created by Aaron Sorkin, made a surprise appearance on the Emmys stage during the TV awards show Sunday.
Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Martin Sheen and Jimmy Smits appeared in a makeshift Oval Office before announcing the nominees for outstanding drama series and then handing the Emmy to eventual winner Shōgun.
"It's hard to believe that just 25 years ago, Aaron and the writers actually had to use their imaginations to create interesting plot lines for The West Wing," Janney said.
To which Schiff replied, "Unlike today where storylines can be plucked right off the news, storylines that writers would have deemed a bit far-fetched if not utterly ridiculous 25 years ago."
While the reunion was a hit with the live Emmys audience and those watching at home, there was one notable absence. Whitford played White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in The West Wing, and took to X, formerly Twitter to explain why he wasn't there.
Newsweek contacted Whitford's representatives by email outside of office hours for comment.
"It breaks my heart not to be able to be with my West Wing family at the Emmys tonight or at the White House later this week to celebrate our 25th birthday, but I'm in Budapest on another White House set pretending to work for another administration. (I know. I need to work on my range.)," Whitford began referring to his role as former Speaker of the House, James Blaine, in the TV series Death By Lightning. That series currently being filmed on location in the Hungarian capital and will tell the story of the 20th U.S. President James Garfield, and his admirer Charles Guiteau, who assassinated him.
Whitford continued in his X post: "My God, the writing on The West Wing. Those characters. Played by people I love and admire and get to be part of a family with for the rest of my life. As Janel said in her beautiful piece, it was, and somehow continues to be, a privilege. A gift.
"I'm thinking of our incredible crew. Of the hundreds of people you never saw who made this happen. I'm thinking of Aaron. Of the miracle of a brilliant writer sitting in a room and having an idea that made all of this possible."
"And I'm thinking of John Spencer. Of how much we miss him. Of what a kick he would have gotten out of tonight," wrote of the actor who played a fictional White House Chief of Staff in The West Wing and passed away in 2005 from a heart attack.
"The farther away from the show I get the more grateful I am to have been a part of it. I'm proud of its ongoing legacy that celebrates hope and public service in a world that can no longer afford cynicism and despair," Whitford continued. "So what's next? To celebrate our anniversary, I hope you will check your voter registration and make a plan to vote!!!"
The reunited cast of West Wing also used their Emmys appearance to encourage people to vote in the November presidential elections between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
"Our political landscape has shifted," Moloney said, then told people to vote.
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