I remember when I took the role on E.R., I thought, 'I haven't really been able to play a working class woman. I've played girls, I've played funny, but I haven't played a working class woman. That sounds like something I'd like to do.

I think you have to have a little bit of a screw loose to think that you can [become an actor] because the odds are so against you. I was just crazy enough to think I could do it.

I'm trying not to put pressure on myself to decide what to do at this moment, and just sort of go with what's happening.

We hurt each other because we care about each other.

Everything seems to take on a new meaning when you become a parent and you put yourself in the shoes of the parent, not the shoes of the child.

I think the hardest thing about the part is the responsibility that you feel playing something that is so real and resonant in our times. There are people coming home right now with those stories, and I'm just an actress pretending to be that person. You hope that you can shed some light on somebody's predicament.

I always thought I was a little shy, especially compared to my brother and my sister, but I guess I was always the kid doing performances in the front room.