What drew you to the project?

A big part of it was the challenge of playing this guy, John Sullivan, and not doing it in a way that made him a stereotypical rich villain in the story coming in to steal the girl [his biological daughter]. That could have been an easy trap to fall into. When I first read it, I said, "Ok, there's the dad, David, you really like, and then there's the mean, rich [biological] dad who comes to try and take this guy's daughter away." And I thought, it'd be fun to play that [the rich dad] in a way where the audience is conflicted and winds up liking him. I was also really interested in who they got to play David. When I heard it was going to be Rob, obviously, the whole project became more attractive.

Do you have any funny stories about working with Rob Morrow?

Rob and I only had a couple of scenes together. He was really refreshing in that he was really natural, did his homework, and was always really prepared. We had a scene in a restaurant where he hit me with an ice bucket, and you couldn't tell by watching it but it was fun. Obviously, shooting scenes like that are great. Choreographing it was really fun.Do you share any traits with your character?

I hope not too many [considering his behavior]. He's a really rich Fortune 500 guy, which is not very close to me. That was the attraction. Mike Delfino, who I play five days a week on "Desperate Housewives," is basically me. We're pretty much the same guy. So it was fun to do something like this. It's what I look for in the summertime -- to do things that are a departure from my day job.

Did being a father affect the way you approached this role?

My wife and I work really hard at being parents, so I'm not nearly as clueless as my character is about being a dad. He didn't know how to treat his daughter. He treats her as a business associate, an assistant and a friend. I had to fight my natural parental impulses because I couldn't really afford for Sullivan to feel natural around his daughter. That's sort of the point of the movie.

What do you enjoy most about fatherhood?

As actors we get pretty self-absorbed. Your livelihood depends on how you look, how you sound, how old you are and what your attitude is, so we [actors] get really self-centered. When you have kids, it takes the focus off of you, which is liberating and refreshing. You forget about what clothes you're wearing or if you went to the gym, and can completely focus on somebody else. It makes you a better person, if you do it right.

Are you the tough parent or the easy parent in the house?

No, I'm a wimp. My dad was really tough, and I loved him for it. I try to be more like him, but it's hard for me. I fight trying not to be a little too lenient and spoiling them. My struggle is to keep from doing that -- to try and be tougher.

Lifetime's got lots of "Desperate Housewives" fans. What can they expect this season?

A gay couple moves onto the street. It's a family that people are really going to love having in the neighborhood. The other thing is adding Dana Delaney and Nathan Fillion to the cast. They're playing the Dark family. They have a really bad secret. They lived in Mike's house way back before the other women on the street.

How does Dana's character get along with the other housewives?

Dana Delaney was in the neighborhood when it was just Susan, Mary Alice and her. She sees Bree, Lynette and Gabby as newcomers and outsiders, and there's a real territorial battle between Marcia Cross and Dana Delaney. It's funny because Dana looks at it as her street, that she's come home again. When we brought in the Applewhites, there was no connection to anybody on the street, and it didn't really work. Dana has a real connection to Mary Alice and to Susan and to the street itself, and so it's gonna play really well with some of the flashbacks and what her secret is -- and what happened in that house to force her to move away. So that's the big mystery this year.