Only once have I taken on a role where I felt that I didn't quite understand her, but I said yes anyway. I don't think I'll ever do that again.

It's taken a while for me to convince people that I can do something other than Scully. And it still takes effort.

Self-esteem should have nothing to do with what you look like – if you exude genuine confidence, people will be swept into it. You have to be able to hold yourself.

It is not a matter of being fearless. The fear is sometimes constant, but it's about moving forward regardless of the fear. Courage means feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

I wouldn't say I'm normal. But I'm relatively stable. When I think of normal, I think of mediocrity, and mediocrity scares the f--- out of me.

I love it when women come up to me and tell me I'm a positive influence on their lives and the lives of their young daughters. That's a great feeling.

I know people who are embarrassed to be American. They don't like showing their passports. It's becoming a scary place. It takes someone very brave not to be quiet, someone who doesn't mind death threats, their life being turned upside down, news cameras outside their door. There is no freedom of speech in America anymore. They are not living up to the constitution. There's so much fear in America and control.