Five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close will don a judge's robes for a guest appearance on "The West Wing" later this month.

Close will play a potential Supreme Court nominee in the episode, scheduled for Wednesday, March 24. The role will be a relatively rare episodic-TV appearance for Close, whose last work on a series was a voice cameo on "The Simpsons" earlier this season and a "Will & Grace" guest appearance in May 2002.

In the episode, close will play a federal judge whom President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) considers appointing to the high court after one of the sitting justices unexpectedly dies. Her left-of-center politics, however, make her a tough sell to replace the dead justice, a staunch conservative.

Close collected five Academy Award nominations in the 1980s, beginning with her feature-film debut, "The World According to Garp." She's also been nominated for several Emmys, including for her "Will & Grace" guest shot. She won the award for best actress in a miniseries or special in 1995 for "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story." She also counts three Tony Awards to her credit.

She'll next be seen opposite Patrick Stewart in Showtime's remake of "The Lion in Winter," scheduled for later this spring. She also co-stars with Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick and Bette Midler in "The Stepford Wives," set for release in June.