It's taken me a long time to realize that my own life is far more interesting than any part I'll ever play.

I don't think my generation carries the weight of World War II anymore. But I've got to tell you, even if we don't really talk about it, we get reminded constantly by other people or other countries. I get offered a World War II movie at least once a week just because I speak German and was born there. I have always stayed away from it because I didn't want to be put into that box.

I play a curator, the most American part you can think of. My work is to protect the Declaration of Independence. I work at the National Archives in Washington.

What you wear is such an expression of who you are. That's like someone picking out who I'm going to date!

I'm not one of those women who thinks beauty is a curse.

Because I worked in fashion, I know that I like fashion. Haute couture is a form of art that I can appreciate. I'm definitely not someone who wakes up every day and thinks about what I'm going to wear, but on the red carpet, it's reflective of the mood I'm in, or the movie I'm going to represent.

I really feel like the first day I went to drama school and I went up on stage, that I found my vocation. It's kind of a cliched thing to say but I really feel like it was what I was meant to do.