For my birthday, I had a wonderful dinner at Bar Marmont in Hollywood with my wife, Beth, Adrian and his wife Natalie, Milo, and my friends Tom and Kira. It was one of those perfect occasions when there's no time to plan anything and the evening is the better for it.

We had been working all week in the high desert and at the last moment I just asked these guys to join me for dinner Saturday night and they did. After years of experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that the best dinner parties are 6 to 8 people, no more. Everyone can talk to everyone else, no one is left out and no one can hide in a corner and wallow in his misanthropy.

Now, see? What other actor blog goes Emily Post on you? Don't get me started about place settings!

Anyway, it was a great night. Big parties are all well and good, but I always have the best times with smaller, more intimate dinners. Afterwards, we returned home to my daughter and more friends for impromptu cake and champagne. It was a perfect evening.

Returning to the business of show, I am very happy that Sean Penn won the Oscar for Best Actor. Whatever you think of him, Penn's Harvey Milk is a wonder. For a man known for being guarded to the point of paranoia, Penn transformed himself into the most open, affable, empathetic man. By all accounts, that's exactly who Harvey Milk was. It was impossible not to like him. It was this empathy; the fact that Milk was the only member of the City Council to attend the christening of Dan White's child, for example, that gave the tragedy of Harvey Milk's death real scope.

Milk does what a movie needs to do when the outcome is known beforehand. It presents an alternate ending, a happy ending; an ending you wish for, an ending so close you can touch it before it is torn from your hand and dashed to pieces. Harvey Milk could have been a friend and mentor to White had White not been so paranoid and insecure. If there had been animosity between the two from the outset, if the audience felt that conflict was inevitable; they wouldn't be as affected as when they see a different, happier outcome so close at hand. Then, when it all falls apart and tragedy hits, it is devastating.

The movie deserves high marks all around, with special kudos to Sean Penn, who was simply superb. All the performances are first rate but I am especially impressed with James Franco, who gives a subtle, assured performance; never calling attention to himself, never commenting on the character, or winking at the audience as if to say, "You all know I am a leading man, I'm just doing this for the industry cred and will back to my dashing, hetero self in a moment." Some actors do this, and in my opinion, it is inexcusable, it's despicable. But I will not name names. OK... me, at times during the Dynasty years. I didn't mean to but I probably did.

Of all the movies I've seen this year, Franco's performance was my favorite in a supporting role. To him I bestow the highly suspect HRG (He's Really Good) Award.

"Cold Wars:" written by Joe Pokaski, directed by Seith Mann. Some memories: For three days I was tied to a chair in a motel room. Grunny and I hyperventilated almost to the point of passing out for all three of those days. When I was finally freed from my bondage (Take it easy! You know who you are!) I would find myself being wrapped up in duct tape all over again for yet another take.

I had two scenes with Cris Rose downtown on a park bench in 90 degree heat with a raging cold (from Hayden's burrito, if you recall -- that's how long ago we shot this episode). She was great. Loved her reading of "I'm tired, Noah." Loved the scene at the end of the show. It's fun to have a partner in crime.

Riding through downtown LA in a taxi, Sendhil and I tried to make our lines heard above the tow car and the fans on the street who shouted out, "Hey Heroes, we love you!" It could have been a whole lot worse. We could have been shooting in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, as you may know, is famous for booing Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, so a couple of taxi-towed thespians would have been in big trouble. I grew up in Easton, an hour away, and my brother lives in Philly, but man, that's a tough town.

I had a couple of scenes with Zeljko. In one of them, I bring a bottle of scotch to his apartment to try to win him over. I enjoyed this scene because it's different. I'm solicitous, which forces me to be friendlier than I usually am, but I'm also disdainful of Danko's approach to people with abilities. Layered on top of HRG's rather pitiful attempt at bonhomie, this resentment gave the scene a nice edge. Edge is always fun. Plus, Zeljko is just a fantastic actor.

Adrian and I had a long scene when Nathan comes to recruit HRG. I was so happy to finally get a substantial scene with him. But it was challenging because we were discussing plot the audience already knew. The two of us spent several hours the day before working through the scene to try to give us both a clear purpose. I needed to know exactly what his intentions were and to make sure Claire was off the table and he needed to know that I was totally on board. So, we got together at a rib joint on a Sunday afternoon and worked through it. Simultaneously, Adrian worked through two of the biggest servings of ribs I have ever seen in my life. After he finished the first plate I sat, literally slack-jawed, as he ordered the second. I mean, I like to eat but Adrian makes me look like a bulimic with a coke habit. Of course, he runs 50 miles a week and bicycles 150 miles a week on top of hitting the weights, so he can eat like that, though his lower GI tract might disagree. And it did, the next day during filming.

Seith was a dream. A talented director of such shows as The Wire, Entourage, and Brotherhood, Seith was fun, funny, unflappable, and flexible without being a pushover. When he wanted something he got it, but he always listened to whatever suggestions we had. Grunny complained to him that he never sounded happy after a take, so Seith took to calling "Cut!" with such obviously bogus enthusiasm that we had to laugh after every take. I loved working with him. Charlie Lieberman, one of our two fantastic Directors of Photography (Nate Goodman being the other), told me that in all his years doing television, Seith was the only director who ever sent him a thank you note.

Joe wrote last year's "Cautionary Tales," among many others, which was also a big episode for me. I am always excited when he comes to me with that conspiratorial smirk and tells me he's got a good one in the pipeline for me. One of the joys of being on a show for a while is getting to know the different writers and understanding their styles, just as they come to understand ours.

There is so much pressure on everyone on a show like Heroes, perhaps most of all on the writers. I'm not blowing smoke when I say that this volume is headed in the right direction. I feel we are putting together many strong episodes in a row.

Upcoming: Tim Kring putting down some really good stuff in episode 19 - "Shades of Gray," the return of Bryan Fuller in episode 20 - "Cold Snap," and episode 22 - "Turn and Face the Strange," in which Ashley Crow and I have some intense scenes.

Oh... why were we in the high desert? Turns out, Angela has a history too. And it ain't pretty. "Company Gal?"

And finally, a pitch: I have next year's surefire Oscar winner. It's a biopic about Bernie Madoff: Scumbag Billionaire.

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