Claire Danes Chats HOMELAND on 'CBS Sunday Morning', 9/23

Claire Danes says she was initially skeptical the concept for the post-9/11 terrorism thriller "Homeland" would go over well with TV audiences. In fact, Danes tells CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH Charles Osgood that when she was considering the role, she felt it was "really risky, and maybe too timely, maybe too relevant." Strassmann's full interview will be broadcast Sept. 23 on CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH Charles Osgood (9:00 AM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.

The Showtime drama looks at the country after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focusing on an American POW-turned-terrorist played by Damian Lewis and a CIA agent played by Danes who is out to stop him. "She's badass and brilliant, infinitely more than I could ever be myself, so that's fun," Danes tells Mark Strassmann. "She has this kind of superhero quality."

This weekend "Homeland" is up for nine Emmy Awards. Part of the show's success, Danes says, is because it holds a mirror up to current times. "And I think there are very few representations of what our society is wrestling with now in this post-9/11 moment, extended moment," she says, "which is brimming with anxiety."

Strassmann visited the North Carolina set where "Homeland" was filming its second season.

In the report, Lewis talks about meeting President Barack Obama, who has said he is a fan of "Homeland." Lewis said he asked the President when he gets to watch. "And the President said, you know, 'Saturday afternoons. Michelle takes the girls to play tennis, and I turn on 'Homeland,'" Lewis tells Strassmann.

Rand Morrison is the executive producer.

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Photo courtesy of CBS