Claire Danes Charlie Rose Interview: Actress Discusses Her 'Homeland' Character, Preferred Roles (VIDEO)

Claire Danes' work as the protagonist of "Homeland" has captivated audiences, but it turns out she adores the character as well. She told Charlie Rose: "I love her, I admire her and I wish I could be her."

In an interview that aired Wednesday on PBS, Danes discussed the role that has brought her numerous awards and fueled the passionate following for the national security drama-thriller.

Her character, Carrie Mathison, is a CIA agent with bi-polar disorder who specializes in thwarting terrorist attacks. Danes revealed the complexities of portraying the brilliant, and at times, impulsive protagonist.

"[Carrie] has a lot of experience in being genuinely the smartest person, but then the curse of the condition is that it necessarily devolves into chaos," Danes said.

The complexity is not unwelcome for Danes, who also played an autistic scientist in the biopic “Temple Grandin”:

"This is the first character that I found after [Grandin] that was… that rivaled it, you know its complexity and in its scope," Danes said.

The 34-year-old actress, who shot to stardom playing Angela Chase in the drama series "My So-Called Life," said she no longer wants to just play the hero's girlfriend; she'd much rather play heroines with depth.

"When I first meet [these characters] on the page, I think, 'Oh my God. They couldn't seem more antithetical to who I am.'" Danes said. "And then you find, you're meeting in the middle, you find them. They find you. And to experience that kind of meshing and that empathy, there is nothing more thrilling."