I found that a bit unfair. However, I did feel quite liberated when I left. I'm very grateful to the show - it revived a flagging career, but I'm glad to be away from it now.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The amount of time it took me to get a show like 'Shameless' was definitely worth it because of the people and the material. I can appreciate it because I know what it's like when I didn't have a show.
It took the producers a while to realize I wanted a full-bodied life. I wanted to get out before I felt I'd sacrificed so much to get somewhere that I couldn't afford to leave.
I felt for a while with the GH appearances, they were kind of using me as a media trick, bringing me on for three or four weeks, saying I was back on the show, but not really writing for me. And then I would be gone. I just didn't like that anymore. I guess it was me putting my foot down.
When I was asked to leave, I left... Then they made me come back. I did, and I decided to enjoy it. It was one year. I care about everyone at 'Criminal Minds' but I knew, in my heart, I had left.
My writing was liberated once I abandoned acting.
I feel like a hostage to fortune. Not that I am complaining. I wanted to play the role. But in truth I didn't think the show would be such a success. OK, I thought it would fail. Not because it was bad. I was confident it was good, but plenty of good things just sort of wither on the vine.
What I got out of it was a great experience working with great people and it becoming a tremendous - basically - a family at the end that none of us wanted to leave.
I miss my 'Facts of Life' family. But I had been preparing myself to leave the show for some time before we called it quits.
I'm not saying anything to denigrate 'Criminal Minds'; that's a great show. I just didn't appreciate it anymore. I appreciate those people, but I realized my heart wasn't in and I needed to go because plenty of people would rip their arm off to be on that show, so they should be.
But it was hard to leave because the show's been so important in our lives.