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One night in 1994, the domino effect that launched Alison Janney’s career began
One stage performance in 1994 helped set Alison Janney on the path to wider recognition in film and television. Director Mike Nichols saw her in the New York play *Fat Men in Skirts*, leading to a small role in *Wolf* and later work that helped secure her breakthrough in *The West Wing*.
Janney recalled that the audience included Nichols, Al Pacino, Jackie Kennedy and other prominent figures, though she did not know why they were there. Nichols later cast her in *Primary Colors*, which brought her to the attention of Aaron Sorkin; Janney said that film led to *The West Wing*. The series ran from 1999 to 2006, and her performance as C.J. Cregg earned her four Emmy Awards.
In short
- A 1994 play brought Janney to Mike Nichols’s attention.
- Roles in *Wolf* and *Primary Colors* followed.
- *Primary Colors* helped lead to her four-Emmy role on *The West Wing*.