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Ask actor John Slattery what got him interested in acting, and he'll tell you.

"I have no idea," he said after a long pause.

And yet, Slattery is one of those actors whose career has spanned almost 20 years of steady work in television, film and theater. His credits include "Sex in the City," "Desperate Housewives", and a significant part in Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," not to mention last year's "Rabbit Hole," the Broadway play that earned him significant kudos.

Slattery represents the backbone of Hollywood: the supporting actor. While not the big star, he is fortunate enough to make a living in a trade known for short careers.

"Well, it's good," he said. "There's a handful of these guys, and lightening strikes and you're lucky enough to be one of those guys. I've gotten to the point where I don't expect anything to change my life. I've made that mistake before."

Slattery's current project is as a recurring guest star on "Mad Men," an AMC series created by "The Sopranos" veteran Matthew Weiner. He plays Roger Sterling, the take-no-prisoners partner in an advertising firm in 1960s New York City.

"It's a show that has turned out be unlike most shows," he said. "In a television situation, you take a flyer on the pilot and the people. In this case, it wasn't that big a chance because Matt is such a good writer, as evidenced by ‘The Sopranos.' And it's just turned out to be in every respect a total pleasure. I mean the writing, the other actors, the design, the overall vibe on the set, the stuff I've gotten to do, the characters. It's great stuff.

"Oftentimes, in a network pilot you will see these characters laid out," he added. "And in that 15 minutes of exposure to each character, you learn everything you need to know about just who that person is. In this show, you don't know that. [Roger Sterling] starts out to be a pretty nice guy and then you find that he's not such a nice guy. This isn't a simple show. It's a show that takes patience to watch. You want to get to the end. The characters are complicated."

One interesting aspect of Slattery's "Mad Men" is that his real-life wife, actor Talia Balsam, plays his character's wife on the show.

"It is great," he said. "Except for the fact that we have to commute from New York and one of us has to be home for our son. But working together is great."

An interesting part? With your wife? Not bad for a guy who has no idea how he got into acting. So what's the secret?

"You try to find the best material you can, and when you get it, it's a great day," Slattery said. "And you do it, and then you move on and look for something else. It's a very forward-looking occupation, which I think is a good thing, anyway, in life."