There are generations of women who left the workforce to be moms, and their kids grow up, and they think, "Well, what now?"

I've had chapters in my work life that have kind of coincided with the place I am in mine. I had the best-friend phase, and the pregnant-woman phase - for a while, I was pregnant in every movie.

There's something about looking at society's expectation of what [motherhood] is and tipping it.

Did I think I'd ever be in television shows that people would see or movies? No. But I knew that I was going to be an actor.

I also feel like motherhood, especially, is seen usually in movies with this saintly veil over it. There's something about tipping that and showing what's actually going on. Or the wish fulfillment of probably most moms, which is really exciting. It's an area that's unexplored.

Even the shows or movies that we know are not going to change the world, I love this. I love 'em. I'm a movie fan. I'm a nerd of any kind. I love a big studio comedy as much as I love the teeniest tiniest of indie. I'm not a snob in that way. I really do like a big, big studio comedy.

I have two kids, and when my oldest was first born, it was the most vulnerable feeling in the world. I remember taking him to his first doctor's appointment, and on the sheet, it said "mother," and I put my mom's name. I was like, "Oh, right, I ... I'm the mother!" You just feel so vulnerable.