While acting is what I do for a living, activism is what I do to stay alive.

I was the last one to join the cast of the west Wing and when I started it was just a peripheral character - the focus was to be on the staff, not the First Family. When I did the pilot, my contract was for just three years and it was confined to maybe three or four episodes every season. The only restraint I had was that I could not play another President while the show was on the air. So, I kind of backed into one of the great events of my life and certainly my career.

I think he [President Clinton] was probably the brightest President of the 20th century.

I just think that the only way we come to ourselves is through each other.

Money's only something you need in case you don't die tomorrow.

I think most actors rarely get the opportunity to play something really close to you and speaks to something you deeply believe.

Childhood hunger in America is as much a paradox as it is a tragedy. Why, in the wealthiest country in the world, should hunger darken the lives and dreams of 12 million children and their families? I believe that, when Americans learn the facts and understand how their involvement can make a difference, banishing childhood hunger will be a national, local and personal priority.