Adrienne [ Shelly] had 100 per cent control over this movie [ Waitress] as a director. She didn't just write it, direct it and act in it, she was the creative force behind everything, from the jokes down to the expressions.

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 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.

The thing I loved about this movie [Waitress] when I read the script was that it was exactly the kind of film that I love to watch. It's not just funny, it's serious, just when you need it to be and true to life in a way.

You don't get to be the bad mom and still succeed at your job and be tough. It's such a good job because it's so rare. It's a really rare job.

I don't have time for any special skin routines. Many a night I go to bed with the gloppy mascara and all.

It's definitely a unique situation that we're in. And, yeah, it is difficult not having our ringleader here with us to talk about the film [the Waitress], not having our main person here. People are also asking in relation to the film: what would Adrienne [ Shelly] say about this or that? But I don't know. I don't know what she would say.