I've played horrible people and done horrible things, and there were moments on 'The Knick' where it was super uncomfortable - some of the things I had to do and say.

At the end of the day, you're saying lines and playing pretend. All that varies from show to show is the level of the intensity and the terms of the expectations you place on yourself.

Sometimes it's tough as a supporting character: you are on the sidelines, and you don't get to be there for most of the fun stuff. You are hearing about all the great stuff that is going on, but you never get to be a part of it.

I realize I live in a bubble, and all the opportunities are there to me. And having done a number of popular TV series, I'm mildly famous in certain situations, and lots of doors open to me.

But I decided I wanted more education and I had to make a choice between starting law school, which was interesting to me, and going for a graduate degree in engineering.

We were like any other family with the same troubles and some of the same happy moments.

As a parent, if give yourself what you need, your children will watch you doing that and will give themselves what they need.

Spend hundreds of millions; talk endlessly about issues; present 12-point plans for education, the economy, and the environment. But in the end, the election of our next president can turn on a gaffe.