My mother used to tell this corny story about how the doctor smacked me on the behind when I was born and I thought it was applause, and I have been looking for it ever since.

Alexander Payne's very specific. His scripts are always complete when you start working on them.

There are a lot of powerful women in Hollywood who have been movie stars for a long time who are getting into their forties and fifties. I still want to see them work.

A lot of guys come up talking about The Waterboy. I get a lot of that. Misery, Delores Claiborne and The Waterboy, those are the main ones I get.

I can sit here on the couch and hear you say, "You're very feminine and very attractive," but I have always struggled with that.

I love everything. I love being the empathetic characters. I love being the villains. I think it's like when we're kids, we like to play all kinds of crazy characters and dress up.

You hope that the same people are coming back. I love playing with Angela [Bassett]. She's fierce. I met her years and years ago when she was a student at Yale, so to see her do these fierce roles and go on to [be] this powerhouse has just been awesome.