There's something about Southern women that is so unique yet so universal. Strong southern women are allowed to be soft and feminine and have a sense of humor. But what I love about Southern women in particular is their universality.

In terms of American Horror Story and Nashville, what attracted me to those, and Friday Night Lights, for that matter, is that they felt like something innovative and something that we hadn't seen before. As an actor, that's exciting.

I'm obsessed with 'Thelma and Louise,' and therefore obsessed with Callie Khouri who wrote that movie.

My whole background is theater, and theater is to some degree presentational.

My twin sister, my cousin, and I used to write and perform plays for my family. We raided the closets for costumes and fought over parts. I'm sure I was the bossiest one.

For my birthday this year, my girlfriends - who knew I'd just inherited my dad's turntable - gave me a carton of albums like "Blue Kentucky Girl," by Emmylou Harris, and "Off the Wall," by Michael Jackson. It's all stuff we grew up with. I mean, you can't have a music collection without Prince's "Purple Rain" - it just can't be done!

I always want to stretch myself and do something that I haven't done before.