Alex Gansa is the Showrunner, Co-Creator, and Executive Producer of the Showtime® thriller Homeland, starring Claire Danes, Rupert Friend and Mandy Patinkin. Homeland premiered in October 2011 to critical acclaim and the highest debut ratings for a freshman drama on the network. Homeland won the 2012 and 2013 Golden Globe® for ‘Best Television Series,’ and a 2012 Emmy® in six different categories including ‘Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series’ and ‘Best Drama Series.’ Additional honors include two WGA Awards, aProducers Guild Award, the Peabody Award, Television Critics’ Association Award, Critics’ Choice Television Award, a recent TV Academy Honors Award in 2015, and was named one of AFI’s ‘Top Ten Programs of the Year’ in 2011, 2012, and 2015.

Gansa previously served as an Executive Producer on the long-running 24; the CBS series NUMB3RS and Dawson’s Creek; and as a Consulting Producer on Entourage. His other work includes the hit series The X-Files, for Fox; Sisters, for NBC; and the critically acclaimed series Maximum Bob that he created for ABC.

Claire Danes first garnered attention for her portrayal of Angela Chase on My So Called Life and has since starred in numerous films and television shows. For her role as Carrie Mathison on Showtime’s critically acclaimed series, Homeland, she won back to back Emmy and Golden Globe Awards as well as a SAG Award. Danes is also well known for her performances in HBO’s biopic Temple Grandin, Shopgirl opposite Steve Martin, Baz Luhrman’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Little Women alongside Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, and Kirsten Dunst, among many others. Additionally, Danes recently recorded the audiobook of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

A graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, Mandy Patinkin has been fortunate to carve out a varied career including theater, the concert stage, film, television, and as a recording artist. His career started triumphantly with his Broadway debut as the role of ‘Che’ in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita. The role won him his first Tony Award, which was followed by another nomination in 1984 for the play Sunday in the Park with George. In 1989, he began his concert career at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater in New York City. Since then he has toured, and continues to tour, across the globe, while also collaborating with other artists. His feature film career has allowed him to act in films such as Wish I Was Here, The Wind Rises, Everybody’s Hero, The Princess Bride, and many more. In television, Mandy won an Emmy Award, as well as a Golden Globe, for his performance in the CBS series Chicago Hope. He starred in the CBS series Criminal Minds as well as in the Showtime Original Series Dead Like Me, and recently wrapped on the film Life Itself. Mandy can currently be seen in the award-winning Showtime Original Series Homeland as ‘CIA Agent Saul Berenson,’ as well as in the hit movie Wonder as ‘Principle Tushman.’

Seija Rankin is the Digital Features Editor at EW, in addition to writing and editing the magazine’s Movie and Books content. Follow her on Instagram @_seija_ for musings on the latest movies, books, and in-flight magazines (really).