Liev Schreiber doesn't see himself as a film star.

The 46-year-old actor - who has sons Alexander, nicknamed Sasha, and Samuel with long-term partner Naomi Watts - thinks he's not in the same league as other Hollywood actors and would describe himself first and foremost as a parent.

When asked whether he calls himself a movie star, Liev told Cigar Aficionado magazine's November/December issue, "I'm flattered but that seems like a bit of a stretch. When I hear that term, I think about people like Johnny Depp or Angelina Jolie. Actually, I think of people like Gary Cooper, Bette Davis, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant. I mean, I act, I'm a parent, I'm an entrepreneur. I don't know if you have anyone anymore who is exclusively a movie star."

Despite having graced the screen in big budget movies alongside the likes of Meryl Streep and Hugh Jackman, Liev is happy to take a backseat and prefers to accept supporting roles: "I made a career out of being a supporting actor. I enjoy the process of understanding a script, breaking it down, figuring out where my part fits in."

The star has finally made the move into TV with crime drama Ray Donovan, which sees him play a high-powered fixer, and he is pleased with the success of the show. "I was not interested in television. And I was less interested in a TV show that was shot in LA., because I'm a New Yorker. [But] It was a really good script; there was no way around that," he explained.