Big brows weren’t the look in L.A., where I grew up. But my mom instilled in me that it’s the quirky things that make you beautiful.

Wearing a corset, a ball gown, heels and a swan hat with wings to fight in the forest gave me a whole new appreciation for everyday clothes, because you really become that alter ego while wearing those costumes in those environments on the set. They just influenced everything you tried to do.

I used to go into rooms of older executives and try to pitch talk show ideas and when I was writing as a journalist I would pitch ideas for my articles and I definitely understand that excitement of a pitch and what that is to be young and a woman and trying to make your voice heard.

I did a film recently in the Republic of Georgia [upcoming 'Halo of Stars'] which was based on a long poem written by the director. We found that all these words were beautiful as a poem, but for humans it was more about the emotion or a look than just saying what was there.

I've realized the quirky things that make you different are what make you beautiful.

If you don't have that trust in the backbone of the project, you may not know what you're making.

It's really important to stand up for yourself and not always agree with what people say if indeed you don't feel that that's true