I've always used my own personal emotions and things that I've gone through in my life to build a character. The work that I do before a film feels almost like therapy, between me and whoever I'm playing.

As an actress, there's a lot of waiting. You wait for a script to come in that you want to do. You get to a point where you decide that if you want good things to be made, you're going to have to start making them yourself as an actress. You can't just wait around for it. But you can also just enjoy the breaks, and use them to kind of refuel. I've been working so long at this point that I don't mind the breaks. I think they make me better, actually.

It's interesting to watch people go through it in something like this. I mean, what other then Melancholia films do they portray depression in?

I liked the girly cartoons. I was very much a girly-girl.

I don't think roles help you resolve your issues. I just think they're good markers.

Rare are the people who can capture a human being.

My mother told me that when I was born a wave of feeling came over her. She just knew that I was destined to be an actress.