"Homeland" actor Mandy Patinkin dishes on global crises
Tony- and Emmy Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin plays CIA European division chief Saul Berenson in the hit series, "Homeland."
The actor told "CBS This Morning" Friday that he feels the show draws people who are "looking for an answer."
"They're looking for some insight to a world that's on fire, a world that's burning and you wonder why," Patinkin said.
The actor voiced his frustrations and concerns about a number of global issues, from the refugee crisis to gun violence.
He described his "wake-up" call about gun violence in America when one of his "Homeland" co-stars, Numan Acar, declined his invitation to visit him in the United States.
"He said, 'If I get into a fight in this country in Europe, I'll just get hurt. If I go to your country and get into a fight, I'll get killed,'" Patinkin said. "A guy who looks like him and what he believes about my country -- it broke my heart."
Patinkin, who also narrates the Showtime documentary, "Spymasters," on the CIA, also said the former directors of the institution suggest "they have failed."
"They have failed. All these bombs ... you send planes, and you bomb more, and it makes more people who are marginalized by society living in towns, where they have no education and they have no opportunities, so they're looking for a place to live," Patinkin said.
Despite all the "mess" in the world, he remains optimistic and urged people to listen and connect with each other.
He detailed his experience of meeting with refugees who were fleeing war when he traveled to Greece.
"I met this family that lost everything in the water, they had no money... to get to Europe and I was fortunate -- I gave them the money for that," he said. "Their boys looked like my boys. I wanted to help them and I did, and it made all the difference in the world."
He also bolstered America's role to share opportunities -- including an education, infrastructure, agricultural and medical systems -- with people who lack them.
"We can show that we are the Americans that we claim, that our forefathers wished us to be," Patinkin said.