I'm trying to just accept things, accept the beauty of things and the joy and positivity of things as they are in the moment and accept when it's not that way as well. Because, of course, none of it lasts forever. It's all going to change very rapidly. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. It doesn't have to be panic-inducing. It can be just the way life is.

My mom [has] always been my hero. Watching her experience something like breast cancer was pivotal, I think in my whole family's life and experience. She is one strong lady.

I'm never saying never - I'm saying I'm not about to.

You can always tell when an actor has grown a 'rhino skin' to protect themselves. It comes across on screen, and they aren't believable. They're dead in the eyes because they've been told a million times that they're the greatest actor that ever lived. If you don't realise what's happening, and get your feet back on the ground, it can be the worst thing that ever happens to you.

Viola Davis keeps saying this movie should be called The Big Responsibility instead of The Help, because there were so many groups of people that you wanna do right by. You want to do right by Southerners and the African-American community and the readers of the book and the people that grew up with domestics and the people who worked as domestics. There's a million different groups that you're trying to please and satisfy that you're worried about not loving what comes across onscreen.

When I was 14 -years-old, I made this PowerPoint presentation, and I invited my parents into my room and gave them popcorn. It was called 'Project Hollywood 2004' and it worked. I moved to L.A. in January of 2004.

I've been looking at that in myself lately. Often, joking for me is a way of diffusing the awkwardness of a situation, so it's kind of exhilarating to be a part of projects where there's nothing funny or lighthearted.