Peter Sarsgaard "can't imagine" being married to a non-actor.

The 53-year-old actor has been married to Hollywood star Maggie Gyllenhaal since 2009, and Peter has explained that they "take turns" with their work.

The movie star - who has daughters Ramona, 18, and Gloria Ray, 12, with Maggie - told PEOPLE: "I think it would be a lot more difficult to be married to someone who had a more consistent type of employment in one place."

Despite this, Peter acknowledged that making a film or TV show requires a certain level of "sacrifice".

He shared: "I think at one point I used to think that I would work more if I could. But I think that's wrong.

"I think I would've done a lot more things that I was not proud of. So when I say yes to do something, it's some type of sacrifice for me. Not a big one. Everyone else has got bigger sacrifices in the world, but just talking like artistically - I can't work constantly. I have a whole other life. I have a family."

Meanwhile, Peter recently claimed that acting has helped him to become "a more fully evolved person".

The actor grew up in "pretty closeted parts of America" and his immediate family members were often reluctant to express their emotions.

Speaking to the Observer newspaper, Peter shared: "I lived with a lot of very sensitive people.

"Mental illness was a real thing in my house. Around those people, in those types of potentially volatile situations, you want to keep everything chill. And I'm very good at it.

"I spent a lot of my time as a kid trying to read the minds of people who didn't know their own minds. It's a skill I developed. I'm frequently thinking about what other people are thinking."