I love doing sitcoms and I love performing in front of a live audience, so [Payne] was a really fun experience.

[Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt] pushed me out of my comfort zone [in Buffy The Vampire Slayer ].

When I first started I was always known as The Girl on the Sitcom with the Funny Voice.

I still have people coming up to me, and it was, what, six or seven years ago when that finale aired? And they tell me who they were watching with, what their emotional reaction was, and how they were devastated for weeks about [Rita's death in Dexter].

As an actor, it made me realize a really important lesson. I didn't have to put any spin on the ball as Rita [in Dexter]. All I had to do was speak. And there was such simplicity in that as an actor. With Debra, I was trying to put a square peg into a round hole, and it just didn't work, but in my mind, because I had to work so hard on it, I was, like, "Oh, this is acting!" But that's not acting.

So it's nice to know that Rita had that impact, and it was nice to end a character on a high note like that. But, again, in the moment... I always say, nobody was more devastated than me [from Rita's death in Dexter]!

During the rehearsal process I got thrown off the horse.