Who's News: Dule Hill, Lucy Punch and more!

West Wing vet Dule Hill, 35, finally gets to show off his impressive tap dancing skills in the fifth season of Psych (USA, Wednesdays, 10 p.m. ET/PT). Getting tap onto people's radar is a personal goal for him. "I'd like to see it shown more on TV shows, in competition shows," says Hill, who practices in his L.A. garage. Even just the few minutes of dancing Hill's Gus does on Psych inspires him to keep his dream alive. "I'm a true believer of you have to follow your dreams and passion, and where you feel you're being led, you have to follow it," Hill says.

Lucy Punch, who stars with Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in Dinner for Schmucks (in theaters Friday), says she lives an ordinary life in L.A. "I didn't sell my soul!" Punch, 32, says with a laugh about relocating from her native United Kingdom. "I'm in a very tiny, weeny apartment with no furniture that looks more like a yoga studio." In her free time she enjoys "a bit of hiking," she tells us: "What I love about L.A. is that people say they're going for a hike, which just means a walk. It's a stroll, but if you walk in L.A., it's a hike."

Is there some significance to the two gold necklaces Mariska Hargitay wears on Law & Order: SVU?

Jaymi McElyea, Brighton, Mich.

With the first necklace, Hargitay, 46, was making a literal statement. The rectangular pendant from Me & Ro is stamped "fearlessness." When SVU costume designer Tina Nigro joined the series three seasons ago, Hargitay was itching to jump on the layered-necklace trend. "She wanted to change things up," Nigro tells us. But with the second piece, Hargitay chose a subtler message: the lotus, also by Me & Ro, a beautiful flower that "comes from an ugly place [mucky water]," Nigro says. Hargitay's character, Olivia Benson, was also birthed from an ugly place: rape. "That's the significance," Nigro says.

What happened to the man who played the Phantom in the movie The Phantom of the Opera?

Julie Morris, Endwell, N.Y.

The man behind that mask is Gerard Butler, who has become one of Hollywood's leading men after showcasing his famous abs as King Leonidas in 300, wooing Katherine Heigl in The Ugly Truth and keeping his guns in check in action films Gamer and Law Abiding Citizen. "I don't know if I'm the best actor out there, but I definitely have, how would you say, I have a lot of range," says the 40-year-old Scot. Next up: Coriolanus. "I'm a busy man, doing some good stuff," Butler says.

I notice President Obama is left-handed. Which of the other U.S. presidents were left-handed?

Frances Boldt, Las Cruces, N.M.

Thanks to our friends at the White House Historical Association (whitehousehistory.org) in Washington, D.C., for helping out with this question. Other left-handed presidents were James Garfield (20th president); Harry Truman (33rd); Gerald Ford (38th); Ronald Reagan (40th); George H.W. Bush (41st); and Bill Clinton (42nd). Some lists include Herbert Hoover (31st), but he was not left-handed, a source at the Herbert Hoover
Presidential Library says.

Could you tell me what Sasha Alexander has been up to since she left NCIS?

Roger Seng, Loveland, Ohio

Sasha Alexander, who played Kate on the CBS drama from 2003 to 2005, is now starring in the TNT drama Rizzoli & Isles, based on the crime novels by bestselling author Tess Gerritsen. In 2006, the 37-year-old American actress gave birth to daughter Lucia Sofia, whose father is Edoardo Ponti, son of Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren. That's right, her mother-in-law is the legendary actress.