I am quite handy; not to sound bragadocious, but I've been working with wood and building things my entire life. I used to be a skateboarder and built ramps with my father. Then, the first two years I lived in Los Angeles, I worked as a carpenter building sets.

One of my favorite experiences in my career, certainly one of the most interesting characters I've ever played, was Simon Lee on 'The Event.' That was a show I was quite proud of and a character I really enjoyed playing. It was one of the most three-dimensional characters that was ever written for me and that I'd ever gotten to play.

We all go to the theater and cinema to be inspired and moved on an emotional level, sometimes to laughter, sometimes to tears. Once I discovered that acting could have such an effect, I was sold. It has been one of the most rewarding discoveries I have ever made.

Whether we're stuffing our faces with Kogi tacos or playing a pickup game of football outside the stages, there's never a shortage of fun behind the scenes on 'Murder In The First.'

I like to think that people who really know me understand I am the same person - and that is something I will always fight to maintain. Obviously the money is there, but I want to stay the same. At the same time, I want my son to enjoy what I didn't have. My father-in-law often looks at all the toys and games Benjamin has.

When it comes to the singing part, I think I missed the boat - the whole family can sing except for me. But they can't fight, so I suppose I've been a bit more successful than them there.

As an actress and comedienne, I'm a huge fan of he theatre and the Tricycle in Kilburn is my favourite in London. I dragged my kids to a performance of 'Twelfth Night' there, where they handed out pizza. Who knew that all it takes to get children interested in Shakespeare is a snack?

There was a great complexity to my father. He was a devoted family man. But, in the same breath, he simply was not suited to an anchored life. He should have been somebody who had a backpack, an old map, a bit of change in his pocket and that was it - roaming the world.