I'm aware that, from the outside, this looks like I've got quite an ego.

Whether its Veep or Homeland or The West Wing - which is a more idealised version of democracy - people are fascinated by politics.

For me, coming to work every day has turned out to be exactly what I hoped it would be.

If you have done well in whatever business you are in, it is your duty to send the elevator back down and try to help bring up the next generation of undiscovered talent.

I've been around politics a long time. I've seen it at its best and its worst, been at so many events, listened to private conversations versus public speaking, understood the game of it, and in many ways the theatrics.

There are times when you do a play when you are living in the character over a two-and-a-half-hour period or longer, and you come to the end of the night, and you can feel like you were hit by a truck.

If youre not concerned about maintaining an image, you can pursue roads that another actor might not take.