Toby Ziegler – The West Wing

Played by Richard Schiff

Toby Ziegler – The West Wing

Tobias Zachary ‘Toby’ Ziegler is the White House Communications Director in the administration of President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet. He hails from a working class background, growing up in Brooklyn. His father was an immigrant with ties to organized crime, a past that complicates his relationship with his upstanding son. Toby has a reputation of being somewhat glum. He is idealistic like many of his colleagues in the Bartlet administration and often unwilling to compromise his values, even if others argue it would be for the greater good. He is someone you want on your side in a verbal spat, and is known to hold his own against just about any opponent, even the president. He is extremely intelligent and witty, though the latter leans more toward the acerbic than others.

Toby was once married to Andrea Wyatt, a relationship complicated by the fact that they initially have trouble having children. Toby is a Reform Jew, occasionally going to synagogue, but not strictly adhering to all rules and regulations. He is grammar snob, considering himself a highly gifted writer (perhaps matched only by Sam Seaborn). Toby is also a sports fan, especially of the New York Yankees — claiming to have attended more than 400 games in his lifetime.

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