Why Jeff Daniels almost walked away from acting

(CBS News) For three decades, Jeff Daniels has played some of the most memorable roles in Hollywood in films like "Dumb and Dumber" and "Terms of Endearment," and on Broadway in plays such as "God of Carnage."

But the versatile performer was about to give up acting before he was approached for the anchorman lead in HBO's new drama series "The Newsroom."

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When asked about those feelings, Daniels said, "I was just tired of it, just bored with it. You play 'Squid and the Whale,' which is a great movie about a kind of dysfunctional father and that's what you get offered, except it's five scenes and then you're in a movie with some 28-year-old who is making $10 million and can't find his mark. So, you know, I'm going, 'I don't need to be doing this anymore.' And then Aaron Sorkin and HBO come along and you're going, 'No, I should still.'"

For more with Daniels on the politics of "The Newsroom" and the messages of Sorkin's show, watch the video in the player above.