Mandy Patinkin: ‘Criminal Minds’ was ‘destructive to my soul’

As a CIA chief on Showtime’s critically acclaimed terrorist thriller “Homeland,” Mandy Patinkin sees his share of violence.

But it’s got nothing on his two-season stint on CBS’ “Criminal Minds,” which he tells New York magazine is one of his greatest career regrets.

“The biggest public mistake I ever made was that I chose to do ‘Criminal Minds’ in the first place,” said the Emmy-winning actor. “I thought it was something very different. I never thought they were going to kill and rape all these women every night, every day, week after week, year after year.”

“It was very destructive to my soul and my personality,” he adds about his role as profiler Jason Gideon. “After that, I didn’t think I would get to work in television again.”

Patinkin calls “Homeland,” in which he stars alongside Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, “the antidote”: “It asks why there’s a need for violence in the first place.”

The actor isn’t criticizing fans of the popular serial killer crime drama. “I’m not making a judgment on the taste [of people who watch crime procedurals],” he says. “But I’m concerned about the effect it has. Audiences all over the world use this programming as their bedtime story. This isn’t what you need to be dreaming about.”

Do you think Patinkin’s point is valid?

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