It's really hard to find things that are worth leaving them for. [Balancing work and motherhood is] really hard. One night in Nashville, my son was screaming with a terrible stomachache. I was like, 'I have to get out of here!' but we had to finish. My friend Jenno, a mother of three who was producing, was great, reminding me that nine times out of 10, they just have gas.

I was having such a hard time when I made Sylvia. I gave everything I had for that role. It's one or two or three things I'm most proud of in terms of my work. But it was very dark.

If your role is to mentor somebody, what you're essentially doing is taking stock of what you've learned, the mistakes you've made, the successes you've had, and you kind of coalesce them and then you translate them back out.

If we were living in ancient Rome or Greece, I would be considered sickly and unattractive. The times dictate that thin is better for some strange reason, which I think is foolish.

I love being. There's so much wisdom in it. You wake up in the morning and you think, Hey, isn't it great just being?

I try to take care of my hair because it sort of has to withstand a lot of blowdrying and ironing.

I always knew I wanted to act, but my parents neverencouraged me. If I was talentless, they didn't want me to be heartbroken.