I started making movies in 1977, and I didn't even think about the idea that I would ever be on a television show. Once I finished the 'Guiding Light,' I was like, 'I'm done with television!'
I've appeared three times on 'The Good Wife.' I'm proud of being associated with the show. 'Time' magazine called it 'the best thing on TV outside cable.' Did I mention that I also appear on cable?
I did a few TV shows in Germany, lots of media.
Acting and singing on 'One Tree Hill' was definitely one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I didn't even know I could act until I auditioned at the casting call for the part of Mia.
I had already played a lead on Broadway before I ever did a film. I had had three, four seasons of stock with good, fat parts, good supporting and leading parts. And I had done, oh, God, over 400 live TV shows.
People assumed that I wasn't open to doing TV, probably because I was doing a film and reality shows. I have become choosy and want to take up substantial roles.
My first series, I wouldn't even know where to get a clip of it. It was called 'Cracking Up.' It was on 'FOX' in 2004.
TV acting is so extremely intimate, because of the peculiar involvement of the viewer with the completion or "closing" of the TV image, that the actor must achieve a great degree of spontaneous casualness that would be irrelevant in movie and lost on the stage. For the audience participates in the inner life of the TV actor as fully as in the outer life of the movie star. Technically, TV tends to be a close-up medium. The close-up that in the movie is used for shock is, on TV, a quite casual thing.
Not Going Out' is what I'm most proud of.
I started off first doing a TV series called 'Boston Common.' That was my first big job, and then I went on to do another half hour comedy show, and that was with Tom Arnold, called 'The Tom Show.'
'Cold Case' was fun. It was a fun experience. That was right when I was cutting my teeth as a TV actor. It was a great learning experience to work on really fast-paced television shows that are very high quality. It was a place where I learned that I had to keep up and I could keep up.
I especially love 'Web Therapy' and I did 'Eastbound and Down' too. I had a lot of fun doing that.
I've played the leads in two British TV series. I've done a bunch of mini-series. Everybody in Australia is a bit in awe of BBC. I've worked for there, and that was a great experience.
I started in TV movies and then had success in my move to features with 'Night Shift' and 'Splash'.
I did a lot of TV work for more than 30 years in New York and L.A., but I would get on the stage whenever I could.
Acting's entertainment. It's not brain surgery.
To get asked to do stuff like 'United States Of Tara' and 'Caprica' is terrific. I can't complain.
I was in a TV show called 'Lucky' on FX. The casting director from 'Lucky' was casting 'Dragon Wars'. She called me in to meet with the producer and audition, and I got it from there.
I'll only work on TV shows that have a 'Sookie' on them! Those are the only shows that will cast me. And I've never even met a Sookie in my life. Sookie on 'Gilmore Girls' was played by Melissa McCarthy. And Sookie, played by Anna Paquin, is number one on the call sheet on 'True Blood.' Somebody should write another script with a Sookie in it.
I had a prior deal in place to do a miniseries for HBO, so I'm not done with TV. But I basically want to stay in movies.
I would like to have a go at TV. I think, especially when you have kids, that you spend a lot of time watching telly, and you think, 'How come I'm not doing that?'
Actors today go into TV, which I don't consider has a lot to do with acting.
I think I must be one of the only actors I know who has never even auditioned for a small part in 'Eastenders.'
I wasn't necessarily looking to do comedy on TV, but I don't think it's an accident that I ended up on 'Community.'
Six months after I moved to L.A., I booked the ABC pilot 'Commander-in-Chief' with Geena Davis. I played her son.
