I became an actress because my mom wanted me to become an actress. It took me until my mid-30s to realize I actually didn’t. I actually wanted to write and direct and be more involved in politics and humanitarian issues.

When other little girls wanted to be ballet dancers I kind of wanted to be a vampire.

This script was just so much smarter than usual and I'm just fascinated by human behavior.

With doing the movies I've done I don't think I would be half the person I am today.

Progress is slow, it is uneven, it is fragile and in some parts of the world it is being erased.

I do not feel any less of a woman. I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.

The life changing moment for me what the first time I went to a war zone and that was Sierra Leone. I took two weeks, eleven years ago and I went. I wasn't an Ambassador or anything I just asked to go and I was allowed to go. It was like someone smacked me in the face.