How much influence do you have over the direction of your character? Do you feel that Cuddy has been written consistently over time? What are her strengths and weaknesses?

In the broad strokes, no, I don't have any influence over the decisions made about Cuddy's story line. However, I think when an actor has been playing a character for long enough, the way you end up inhabiting the character has an effect on the way the stories unfold in the writers' minds. It would be a different Cuddy with a different path if someone else were playing her. In the beginning I was worried that she wouldn't be fleshed out, that she (and I) would be trapped in this mechanical role of saying "Oh no you don't!" every episode. But little by little, as time went by, the character of Cuddy began to emerge. I don't think it's been inconsistent in terms of who she is, it's just that she doesn't get to win very often. She is, much of the time, the one that has to say "Doh!"