People - not just in their teenage years - hold on to this fantasy of love when they're not ready to have a real relationship.

While 'Felicity' was successful in the States, and I had opportunities to do other stuff, I didn't want to do anything to make myself more famous. I wasn't dealing well with the celebrity of all of that. I was 23 - just a kid - and not coming from money, it was all just too much. I just wanted to slow it down a little bit, and gain control.

I don't think, as a 15-year-old, you're that conscious about a lifetime career. I didn't think: "I'm a serious actor." I never studied acting or anything when I was that age.

I am positive I was not a neglected child. I remember reading 'The Jungle Book' and 'The Sleeping Beauty.

Really, it [the Waitress] was a story about believing in yourself ultimately, and caring enough about yourself to change your life.

I think it's quite common and realistic. There are many stories like this [in Waitress]. [Jenna, my character] marriage looks really horrible up on the screen but I think there are a lot of people in bad relationships who wake up and think to themselves: "Wow, how did I end up here? Why am I still here and so unhappy and not satisfied with my life?"

I wouldn't say that my experience making it [the Waitress] was necessarily uplifting, but watching it with an audience, I was surprised at how hopeful it was at the end.