Before her son Cyrus' birth on December 2012, Claire Danes had no idea how difficult — and rewarding — being a working mother would be. Speaking to Us Weekly at The CW, CBS and Showtime's Summer TCA Party in L.A. on Monday, July 30, the Homeland actress said she's still "figuring out" how to balance her career with motherhood.
"I was in my cozy mommy bubble. I was anxious about returning to work. I had all sorts of exaggerated fears, I think the biggest one being, 'Oh god, will I ever want to work again?' And in fact, I do, and it's been great," said the star, who's been married to actor Hugh Dancy since 2009. "But the material is very, very dark and it's so nice to come home and be jarred out of that state by this buoyant butterball."
Danes, 34, often brings her 7-month-old son to set. "Lesli Linka, our director, will hold him and direct," she explained. "She's literally bobbing him and saying, 'Action!' It's very cool."
The first-time parents take turns being their son's primary caretaker. Soon, Danes will travel to Toronto, where her husband is shooting NBC's Hannibal. "It will be my turn to be the one holding down the domestic fort," she told Us. "We feel so fortunate that we get to work in tandem. There's like a month overlap, but basically it's his turn, my turn."
If she's able, Danes will also be catching up on other TV shows. "I'm too busy making other TV to watch enough of it, but a lot of shows I'm very curious about," she said. "I tried to watch House of Cards while I was feeding Cyrus, but it just was not going to happen. He got very distracted and wanted to eat, so I was like, 'Fine!'" The New York-based star said she hopes to watch another Netflix original series, Orange Is the New Black — as well as some reality TV. "I do watch Bravo occasionally," she revealed," but I really don't have time."
