I find that everything I do is demanding, like Jack Bristow is a complicated man and I do a lot of explaining in the show, it takes a lot of energy and concentration.

Being on a television series is sort of life-altering on every level.

The only set thing I do is that I really, really memorize the lines. I've gotta be so comfortable with the words.

The first thing I read was of my character on the phone talking to Sydney's fiance. Though short, it was so beautifully written, and it made me laugh. I thought if I wanted to play a character, this would be it.

I grew up in the theater, and you can't improvise Shakespeare and Ibsen. You have to speak the language. But obviously, in a contemporary film, there's often room for improvisation and spontaneous things that happen. As long as I know what I'm trying to achieve in the scene, and when something comes up, I know that the response is genuine, I'm comfortable. That's really how I build everything.

I don't collect anything. I collect people, I think. I'm very social and I like seeing a lot of people.

My mother couldn't have been happier when I said I was moving to New York.