I think there are a lot more writers who are actors than you know; they just don't have roles on famous TV shows that you recognize.

My strangest auditioning experience was when I was reading for a TV show, and right when I started the audition, the casting director left the room and yelled at me from the hallway to keep reading.

I don't use my writing career as a vehicle to get me acting work or to write roles for myself.

Certainly, for me, and it's gone this way on every project I've worked on, the "writing" never ends until you're done with the movie.

In the case of Game Change, the discussion in that film was how our politicians have become so much like celebrities - personality becomes more important than substance so that they can function in a 24-hour news cycle. So the question is, how do you feel about that? Is this what you want from a politician - somebody who's wildly charismatic, but has so little knowledge of substantive issues?

I took a lot of writing courses.

I wouldn't say I'm a political junkie. I follow it. I read a few articles every day.