It's been an education: Mandy Patinkin on his eight year long journey on 'Homeland'

American actor Mandy Patinkin says his eight-year-long stint on Showtime's critically-acclaimed series "Homeland" has been an educative one as it brought him face-to-face with the issues faced by the intelligence community.

The 67-year-old actor essays the role of Saul Berenson, a mentor figure to the show's protagonist, intelligence officer Carrie Mathison, played by Claire Danes.

After starring in the show that revolves around the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Patinkin said he feels privileged that he got to interact with real people who work on the field.

"It certainly increased my comfort zone of discussing world issues because of the individuals I've been exposed to, the privilege of opportunity I have to ask questions to people who are not actors but who are dedicated to this way of life, both in defending the country, gathering intelligence and being members of Congress and the Senate and asking questions about how the world operates.

"So the 'E-ticket' one gets when one ..