It's through working with a lot of first-time directors that I realized that people learn on their feet. Everybody works on something for a different reason. Everybody has got something new to learn on these sets, and you don't have to know everything, the second you start.

You can feel yourself trying too hard, doing too much. Nobody wants to watch somebody when they're needy, and actors are in the unfortunate position of needing to be cast and needing to be liked.

I've done a lot of odd jobs, including waitressing, which most actors have done. I was a busboy - girl - when I was younger and sold things at little fairs when I was younger. I mostly related the role to being a waitress and having to deal with customers. There are good people and some not-so-good people.

People say that one of the most important things about being an actor is to have thick skin, but I don't think that's it. Because you can't just walk around being tough, you have to be able to be vulnerable to do this. So really, it's about not being defensive.

In movies, you get to explore parts of yourself that in real life, people shy away from, like looking stupid or embarrassing yourself or getting too angry, anything inappropriate. As an actor, you walk into those moments.

In L.A., I like to surf. I went through a phase - I was surfing four days a week. I'm still not good at it; I still spend most of my time falling.

You're not going to learn how to do it until you do it.