I don’t think I would ever have been able to be an actress had I not started at nine years old. I would have been the last person to stand up and say, ‘I’d like to star in the play.’

I think it's cool to come out of somewhere where you're being pushed into this mold and then you figure out in that who you are.

I got a call from Tom Hanks, who directed That Thing You Do!, when he was done cutting that film. I was like, "Oh, my god. Tom Hanks is calling me. This is amazing!" And then, of course, he was calling me to tell me that I was barely in the movie. But I'll never forget it - and this is why he's Tom Hanks, because he's got such a way with words.

I've always had an aversion to looking sexy, but I've grown out of it.

Things don't happen for no reason.

I don't know why anyone does the job without that pressure.

My family is just embarrassingly proud of me. My brothers get a little protective... overly protective. I've made rules now where I say: "You can't go outside and scream at people if they have cameras!"