I like to investigate all different kinds of people, I guess, and find out what makes them who they are, and try to be honest in the portrayal, and truthful, and find out how to understand that person, how to communicate that person's experience.

For me, something dangerous would be playing thebabe in a huge studio film. That would be terrifying because I'dstink... I want to explore human beings on as deep a level as I can.

Even when you think you can detach yourself from the characters, you don't. Because you're spending so much time trying to realize this person and make them real that they do infect you, in a way. And you do take them home and live with them, even if you think you're turning the character off. But in order to pull off a role convincingly, you wind up thinking about that person all the time, and it does sort of creep into you. And then there are things that you'll respond to, or react to in a very different way than you would normally.

Even if the role is very far away from me, to try and make it as nakedly me as possible is an intriguing notion.

In some ways, you're always redefining your craft and figuring it out, but in some ways, I almost feel I'm going back to what I was doing 20 years ago.

I worked with great, brilliant directors. I've been so lucky. It's terrible to compare anyone, because you can't. But I can just tell you that this experience was just a truly magnificent experience for everyone involved.

There's so much confidence and freedom that comes from that way of doing things. Robert Altman and Alan Rudolph make the set the place to be. It's fun. It's a kind of creative freedom that's really inspiring. Altman loved actors so much. He was a great mentor for me, really.