Amid all the crises, high drama and humor that takes place in the hits series "The West Wing," there may or may not be a romance going on between two of the regular characters.
Well, "romance" would be far too strong a word for the relationship between deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman and his assistant, Donna Moss. But there are hints that the two have feelings for each other that are stronger than just those of co-workers. And, as far as Bradley Whitford is concerned, that spark has been there since "the first day" that Janel Moloney appeared on the set.
"I didn't know Janel at all," Whitford said. "And we shot one take of this thing and I went back to (creator/writer/executive producer) Aaron (Sorkin) and I said, 'I love her!' I just thought she was funny without knowing she's funny.
"Sometimes she knows," he said as Moloney gave him a look.
And Moloney said that she, too, knew there was something there from the start — despite the fact that something has never really been expressed by either character in any episode.
"When I got the script, I felt like there was a special relationship," Moloney said. "I didn't really know what it was going to be. In the pilot, I think I had maybe two small scenes, and I had a very strong feeling that there was something to be said about them, this relationship.
"I think something happened for me on the third episode when we did that long walk and talk and I asked for a raise and I was sort of threatening to — I've even forgotten what the thing was. I was sort of bribing him or doing something that wasn't so nice, but it was so much fun for me, and I just knew that there was a lot more to be seen in terms of the relationship."
Enough so that Moloney was upped from recurring character to regular this season, with her name added to the opening credits. Which guarantees a lot more of those walk-and-talk scenes as Donna and Josh spar.
The two actors say those scenes aren't necessarily easy just because of the logistics of filming people in motion. "There's a logistical demand that's tricky, but it's such fun stuff," Whitford said.
But the two admit they're somewhat surprised that their walking has attracted as much attention from some viewers as their talking. At least there's an explanation for Moloney's rather distinctive gait.
"You put on 4-inch heels and a little tight skirt and you're probably going to walk exactly the same way," she said. "That's it. That's all I do is learn my lines and put on those heels."
But she's not the only one whose walk has been noticed by viewers.
"People always ask me, 'Does Brad really walk like that?' " Moloney said. " 'With that swagger?' I say, 'Yeah, I think he does, a little faster on the show.' "
Whitford is less amused by the question.
"This really upsets me because I had no idea that I had this obnoxious arrogant strut," Whitford said facetiously. "And it's funny because it reminded me of the first time I was ever in a movie. I remember watching it, and you're huge (on the screen). And seeing my face didn't bother me because I know what that is, but seeing myself walk away from behind, 30 feet away, really upset me. But no, I can guarantee you that there was no, 'Hey, man, I've got to come up with a walk for this.' "
Not that he has let the questions about his walk affect him.
"(It's) no different from the sort of overwhelming self-consciousness I feel about everything," Whitford said.
"You've got so much to do that the last thing you can think about is how you're walking," Moloney said. "If you're thinking about how you're walking, you're in pretty bad shape."
"So the walks are just sort of sadly us," Whitford said.
And any preoccupations with the walking don't diminish their enjoyment of the talking that goes on between Josh and Donna.
"I just loved the relationship right off the bat," Whitford said. "Then you get these things from Aaron, like (last year's) Christmas episode — there's a moment when I give her a gift when you realize there's really something here. But we're really sort of taking our cues from Aaron."
And they're grateful to the man who writes the scripts.
"I think what Aaron has written that you don't see often is two people who are just, you know, in their reptilian brain stems, mad for each other, but they have no idea," Whitford said. "And that's an interesting dynamic in a relationship that you don't see very often."
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com