I don't use my writing career as a vehicle to get me acting work or to write roles for myself.

I don't see myself directing things I don't write because, to me, directing was just an extension of the writing process.

I studied voice for about two years with an amazing coach, and I never rose above the level of mediocre.

I still recognized for television. Buffy is 70 percent, Gilmore Girls is 30 percent, and then Mad Men. If it's a mother/daughter, it's definitely Gilmore Girls. They usually say, "We always watch it together, and we feel like we're the Gilmore girls." I've heard that like, 5,000 times.

In the case of Game Change, the discussion in that film was how our politicians have become so much like celebrities - personality becomes more important than substance so that they can function in a 24-hour news cycle. So the question is, how do you feel about that? Is this what you want from a politician - somebody who's wildly charismatic, but has so little knowledge of substantive issues?

I took a lot of writing courses.

The auditioning process is one in which the actor gets very little information about almost every element of it.