I prefer playing characters that are going through turmoil. Most movie characters are just in service to the story.

I made the mistake of writing something very, very short about Obama for this website that I write fiction for and my father told me never do that again. And he was right. I have nothing to add to a political conversation because it’s not my area.

Acting is a weird profession. It's very disquieting, and at the time it just made me so confused. It's only when you step away from a movie for several weeks or months that you start to put things in perspective.

I grew up in a secular suburban Jewish household where we only observed the religion on very specific times like a funeral or a Bar Mitzvah.

I just can't - I can't exist in normal group situations. A classroom, where you have to sort of jockey for position, compete for attention - I would just withdraw.

I find it very difficult to do normal things without getting approached.

I see writing and acting as different parts of the same continuum. Writing is better for intense emotion. If you're very angry about something, you shouldn't present it as strongly when you're acting. But if you're really angry and writing about it, that's the best way to get it out and across.