What would you say is harder: appearing in two concurrent Broadway shows when you were a full-time college student, or running for governor of New York State when most people know you only from “Sex and the City”? I think that running for office has pieces of stuff that I’ve done before, like interacting with and collaborating with people, trying to get the word out about the thing that you’re doing and trying to get people interested in it. But in politics, when people come after you, they really come after you.

Christine Quinn, former speaker of the New York City Council, called you an “unqualified lesbian,” though she later apologized. Christine was speaking for herself, but she was also speaking on behalf of Andrew Cuomo. No matter who’s saying it, it all comes from him.

At a time when people are increasingly dissatisfied with a certain famous person holding office, why do you think you’re qualified? I’ve been a political activist since I was a teenager. Donald Trump may be the epitome of the problem, but not because of his celebrity — because of his desire to reward the wealthy and corporations.

Is it your belief that no career politician could fix Albany? I think they could go in and start. But no one stops to say: “We’re one of the most progressive states in the country. We’re two-to-one Democratic. Why haven’t we enacted campaign-finance reform or criminal-justice reform? Why do we have the second-most-unequal schools in the country? Why haven’t we legalized marijuana?”