Mandy Patinkin Thinks ‘Homeland’ Can Save the Middle East

Season 1 of Homeland, the Showtime hit starring Jewcy favorite Mandy Patinkin, premieres this week in Canada. Patinkin went all the way up there to do some press for the show (he’s such a Saul), where he explained in a bizarre interview that Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and Nick Brody (Damian Lewis) are actually metaphors for the conflict in the Middle East.

The weirdest thing about the whole interview, though, is that it’s getting increasingly difficult to tell where Patinkin ends and his on-screen alter ego, Saul Berenson, begins. Here’s how he describes his character:

“This Jewish looking fellow is keeping these two non-Jewish looking creatures together because he feels that they’re the answer to the world’s problems. They both care so much; they have so much empathy towards the human race, even though they are both capable of committing horrific acts of violence,” he explains. “I don’t condone violence but sometimes it happens, I’m not naive. But Saul Berenson’s preference is to make the world sit at the peace table. Saul Berenson’s preference is to not lift a single weapon, not hurt a single human being but he’s not naive, he’s had to do some horrific things in his life.”

Patinkin out.

(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Previously: Watch Mandy Patinkin Get Giddy About Someone Else’s Baby Being Born
Network Jews: Saul Berenson from Showtime’s Homeland
Reality Check: The Israeli vs. American Actors of ‘Homeland’ and ‘In Treatment’
Gilad Shalit Visits Cast of Showtime Drama ‘Homeland’ on Set in Tel Aviv