Claire Danes' final scene on 'Homeland' was a ''cathartic moment''.

The 41-year-old actress admits it was tough saying goodbye to the show - in which she has starred in since 2011 alongside Mandy Patinkin - and she shed ''many'' tears on set.

She said: ''Our partnership grew and deepened over time. It's not a casual scene. I think for me that was my cathartic moment when I realised it was over, because to say goodbye to it in its entirety is just too abstract and too huge. There were some tears - many of them - and we just hugged each other for a really long time.''

And Claire - who starred as Central Intelligence Agency officer Carrie Mathison in the spy thriller television series - was grateful to work alongside Mandy, who plays Saul Berenson, Carrie's mentor.

She added: ''I think that's a wonderful and surprising love story ... It's not one that we see depicted all that often in pop culture: mentor and mentee. In our first read-through the chemistry was really powerful and palpable. He looks uncannily like my best friend's dad, who kind of raised me and is a wonderful person but, if he got mad at you, you felt pretty s***ty. I think that helped: very strong Pavlovian response already built in! And he's just very good at what he does.''

Claire absolutely loves the show, which she has nearly spent a decade on, and says it has been ''great'' for her as an actress.

She told CBS News: ''It's been great for me as an actress, 'cause so often - especially coming out of my twenties - you know, I was playing ingénues or characters who were completely defined by their romantic experience, or the guy!''