You have to find something there that relates to the characters and reality on some level.

Sometimes, his methods and his motives are questionable and even his morals are questionable in the way he does things. But I think his intention is always to protect his daughter.

I've been amazed that it's so popular with people. But it's been fantastic. People are very excited when I walk into a place and they recognize me from the series.

I believe that acting in any medium is the same thing, it's discovering the truth in where you are.

You can only do so much theatre.

Thank goodness I started getting movie roles and then television shows came along. So I was very fortunate to be able to do all three and I like all of them.

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

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.

It's about these people who are inextricably together for whatever reasons, and they happen to be in the spy world. It's about relationships, and the bottom line is, that's why you care.

I have no interest in directing. I've no talent for it.

If you were to come to the set of Alias, you'd know how silly we all are. And I mean, silly.

Sometimes his methods are questionable, and even his morals are questionable, but his intention is always to protect Sydney. So in that way I think he's a good parent.

That's why, when Alias came along, I knew I'd be OK if the show was on for five or six years because the writing was so good and the creative team was so strong.

The crew loves working on the show, even though we have to work really hard. There's nobody in the show that's difficult. We really have a great group.

Then I did one fight scene, and they said it looked good. Because I did it well enough, they've given me more.

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.

My theory about Jack is that he's not a very good parent.

One day, we were doing a serious scene and fast talking like we do and we could not stop laughing and the director had to stop the production. We had to go to our trailer and calm down and do it all again.

Theatre demands different muscles and different aspects of one's personality.

The stage is where I feel most comfortable, and I miss it all the time.

I remember the first reading of the script we had and everybody was sitting around the table. I was very impressed with the level of acting that was in the room, particularly with Jennifer who has so much responsibility.

I like the fact that Jack is always wearing a tie except when he's on a mission. I do like it when I get out there and dress up, or dress down, a little bit.

The most sinister aspect of Jack is his detachment, his ability to distance himself from his feelings.

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

When I first read the script a few years ago I thought it was one of the best written scripts I had ever read.

And when I go to see plays, I marvel at how people can do that. I've done it all my life, but I still find it mystical.

The hardest thing for me is not to keep laughing. Jennifer particularly is like a clown.

I think from a very young age I always have this desire to perform.

We, some cast members and I, even went on a weekend trip together and spent the weekend at an inn, because we enjoy each other's company so much, and it was so cool.

I had done some TV movies that were great experiences but, no, I wasn't looking to do a series.

You have to find something there that relates to the characters and reality on some level.

In our show you have to pay attention and know what happened before. I think it's very intelligent entertainment. It makes demands of viewers that a lot of shows don't.

I'm very serious about acting.

What I realized was how difficult an hour show is and how miserable you can be if you're not happy doing it.

It's disgusting that a Broadway show can't try out anymore, that no matter where they are in the world, there is this massive dialogue going on between people damning or praising it.

I find out more about Jack every week. Essentially, I'm the same character, but I'm having more fun this season because I'm doing more aliases, you know. I like the surprise of not knowing.

I try to ground most of my characters in reality somehow. That's kind of what I bring to the table.

Generally students are the best vehicles for passing on ideas, for their thoughts are plastic and can be molded and they can adjust the ideas of old men to the shape of reality as they find it in villages and hills of China or in ghettos and suburbs of America.

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.

We must admit with humility that, while number is purely a product of our minds, space has a reality outside our minds, so that we cannot completely prescribe its properties a priori.

Sometimes you get caught up in what's going on around you. The reality is that you are just a regular person. At some point, the career will be over, the bright lights turn off. That can come back to haunt you if you're not just a regular guy.

It's about the power of design and the power of the human spirit. It's above paying anybody to do something stupid for money like reality television does - like ambushing people.

I mean, the reality is unemployment today - over 14 million Americans are unemployed. That's exactly what it was a year ago. I mean, this - the American people know we can't borrow and spend and bail our way back to a growing economy.

There is only one admirable form of the imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen.

And then, I suppose, there's also a cinematic reality on top of that. Because it was extremely difficult to keep tabs on, it was quite confusing acting that.

In reality, the most important things happen when you don't look for them.

What I would have liked to do on that show was play a secretary of state who has huge personal business interests throughout the world. That, to me, seems to be more in synch with reality.

From a reality perspective, I'm sure part of that is true, but this is the largest blackout in U.S. history. If that is not a signal that we have got a problem that needs to be fixed, I don't know what is.

It's one of the things that looks good written down, but the reality is that you think about the pieces you're doing and try to bear in mind everyone in the audience.