Fred Thompson was an actor before he was a politician. He's acting again, but he tells us don't expect that it will lead to another run for office.

Fred, who started as an AUSA lobbyist and Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel, tells us playing a lawyer on TV was a pleasant surprise--because if you flub in the TV courtroom, you get a second chance. (And his first role was actually playing himself in Marie,a movie about the trial where he repped famed whistle-blower Marie Ragghianti.)Nowadays, Fred's sticking with acting--recently traveling to Alabama to film an independent movie and screening another one filmed last year--and doesn't plan to run for office again.Yesterday, he shared his experiences at theShakespeare Theatre Company's Expert Witnesses series. The event, hosted by the legally-focused Bard Association, features interviews with prominent people who bridged the worlds of law and the arts. Fred was interviewed by Chadbourne'sAbbe Lowell, the Bard Association chairman, whom Fred has known since his days practicing law.