To do something good, it has to scare you.

Because I am a bad girl, people always automatically think that I am a bad girl. Or that I carry a dark secret with me or that I'm obsessed with death. The truth is that I am probably the least morbid person one can meet. If I think more about death than some other people, it is probably because I love life more than they do.

I wanted to educate myself about the world and I wanted to know what was happening to people in other countries. I feel now I have only just begun.

I like to work with artists from around the world. There are so many new inspiring filmmakers. I had the privilege recently to work with Ethiopian filmmaker Zeresenay Mehari and his wife on the film Difret. They are that unique balance of very thoughtful conscious filmmakers who are also brilliant, original artists.

I learned a lot from Clint [Eastwood], who's an extremely economic director. I learned a lot from Michael Winterbottom, who really gave a lot of trust in the actors and allowed them to live in the space instead of trying to manipulate and make it too set and too staged. Working with [Robert] De Niro taught me a lot of being an actors' director and what that is. I've learned a lot from pretty much everybody. Hopefully I've picked up something from everybody I've worked with.

I love doing lesbian love scenes. Before I did my lesbian scenes in Gia, I talked to actresses who said love scenes are easier with another woman than a man. Bound's Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly said they'd lie there and discuss the sale at Barney's between takes.

People will always say all sorts of stuff. Let them. I'm enjoying my life