Which actor played House Speaker Glen Allen Walken on The West Wing?

John Goodman played House Speaker Glen Allen Walken on The West Wing. Walken was a Republican congressman from Missouri who briefly became one of the most powerful figures in the country during a constitutional crisis.

Walken became acting president after President Bartlet temporarily relinquished presidential power during the kidnapping of Bartlet’s daughter Zoey. As Speaker of the House, he was next in the line of succession under the show’s circumstances, so his assumption of presidential authority was presented as a constitutional transfer rather than a conventional election.

The character’s political profile is distinct from Goodman’s earlier comedic work: Walken is a serious, military-minded conservative and a formidable congressional operator. Goodman appeared in the role during the fifth season, and Walken’s actions during the crisis helped drive the administration’s response to Zoey’s abduction. The other listed actors played different West Wing figures, including Alan Alda as Republican presidential candidate Arnold Vinick.