I've been really interested in focusing on the aspects of my Russian heritage I'm proud of. I'm actually em­barrassed to tell people I'm Russian, because it's become such an awful place.

One of my favorite vampire movies is 'Nosferatu,' which has a palpable sense of dread that's a pre-war dread.

My parents were of the opinion, because they had started skating very young, that you should have something that you do that you care about, because it structures your life as you're growing up.

I'm sure there are directors who don't like to work with actors and don't know how to be sensitive to actors.

I love academics, theory and all that. I love and admire that and try to do as much reading as I can.

I think its important for movies to recognize that they are part of a history of movies. I also think that most movies are about movies anyway, even if they're about something else.

I think you can always find interesting, complex and fascinating characters to play in different kinds of movies. It's in your hands.