When I was young, I learned very early on that I could make my mother laugh. And that was one of the greatest sounds I ever heard.

I couldnt imagine something asking as much of me as House Of Cards. Its a great warm-up for coming back to the screen.

Its interesting to play a politician who gets stuff done.

Over a spell of about three years, I played a series of roles that were, for me, all very different, but most of them came out within a six-month period. They all dealt with a kind of dark territory that in some cases had been mined before in movies.

It's much more interesting when you go to different places - make a left turn when nobody expects you to make a left turn, and make a right when nobody expects you to do that.

I was terrible in my first play. After that experience, I had to face that I wasnt good enough to play with the big boys. I had to go away and learn, so I worked in regional theater for three years. I even understudied at the Kennedy Center.

One can never take the cynicism one comes across in life too seriously.