Aaron Sorkin is an acclaimed playwright and scriptwriter known for his use of dense, literate dialogue and lightning-fast banter between characters. Aaron Sorkin's television credits include The West Wing, Sports Night and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. In addition, Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplays for The American President, Malice, and the screen version of his own play, A Few Good Men. There is also some evidence that Sorkin worked with Steven Spielberg on final drafts of Schindler's List.

Born in New York City in 1961, Aaron Sorkin grew up in the affluent New York City suburb of Scarsdale. His early interest was in the acting profession, and to that end he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University. However, finding work as an actor proved to be a challenge, leading Sorkin to pursue a different career path as a writer. Several of Aaron Sorkin's earliest plays were produced in smaller theaters to some critical acclaim, but a chance discussion with his sister inspired his first major success.

Aaron Sorkin's sister worked for a military legal office assigned to defend soldiers accused of murder at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Details of the case formed the basic storyline for Sorkin's play A Few Good Men. The play would eventually be produced on Broadway, providing a much-needed break for Aaron Sorkin. He would also be involved with the screen adaptation starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson.

Following the success of A Few Good Men, Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay for a politically-tinged romantic comedy called The American President, featuring Michael Douglas as a widowed President attempting to date a lobbyist played by Annette Bening. The movie received solid reviews for the literate dialogue and realistic treatment of the Washington political scene. Aaron Sorkin's own political leanings were liberal, but his script managed to maintain a balanced look at both sides of the aisle.

Meanwhile, several television networks began vying for Aaron Sorkin's writing services. ABC greenlighted Sorkin's realistic comedy Sports Night in 1998, which became a critical favorite for its clever interplay and dialogue, but a ratings failure due to variable time slots and cerebral humor. Sports Night would be cancelled after a few seasons, but Aaron Sorkin's skills were still in demand.

In 1999, NBC debuted The West Wing, a dramedy about the inner workings of the White House executive branch. Aaron Sorkin, aided by Thomas Schlamme and John Wells, wrote many of the show's most popular episodes. His patented machine-gun dialogue and mixture of pop culture references gave the idiosyncratic characters real life. Originally written as a vehicle for actor Rob Lowe as a presidential speechwriter, The West Wing evolved into a strong ensemble cast leading parallel lives with the participants of the real White House.

Aaron Sorkin's career was threatened in 2001, however, after he was detained at an airport for possession of marijuana, rock cocaine and hallucinogenic mushrooms. He stepped away from the day-to-day writing responsibilities of The West Wing in order to pursue rehabilitation. After several years out of the Hollywood spotlight, Aaron Sorkin returned to begin work on a new project featuring many of the actors from his previous shows. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is loosely based on the backstage stories of NBC's long-running live comedy/music show Saturday Night Live, and is expected to receive the critical acclaim of his previous series. Aaron Sorkin has also written two new screenplays, Charlie Wilson's War and The Farnsworth Invention, chronicling the race to invent the television.