I come from one of these hideous backgrounds where being sincere is like - ugh, you might as well kill yourself.

I've been looking to do TV for a while. I've always done guest starring stuff. I've done a couple of multi-episode arcs, and I've always loved the experience.

That worries me an awful lot. If people misunderstand our intentions [in Black Snake Moan], especially regarding my character, then they're essentially exploiting an already exploited and abused woman. So it's a huge concern for me.

As a teenager, my favourite rejection was, 'She looks too healthy,' which of course translates as, 'She needs to lose weight.'

Our society doesn't want to help girls like that [in Black Snake Moan]. They just want to use them.

People are giving me more respect.

To Craig's [ Brewer] credit, I felt totally safe on the set [of Black Snake Moan] . And because I felt safe, Sam[L.Jackson] had to protect me. He got upset at all the physical stuff Craig wanted me to do. When I start doing stuff like that, all the screaming and running, I kinda go out of my head. I'm not necessarily in my own body anymore.