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.

After I finished 'E.R.', I wanted to concentrate on re-examining what kind of actress I am and taking time for real-life things.

I think everyone feels lost at times during their high school years.

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.

One of my favorite things to do is not to speak on screen. In theater it's different because there's a lot of emphasis on language - it's a different medium. But that is one of the most wonderful things about film. A person's face can say so much more than their voice can.

Regardless of how you feel about war and peace those serving military are doing a duty for the rest of us and they're protecting a way of life that they sometimes come back to and it's not close to them.

I always had something to think about or draw from, which as an actor is a gift. The beautiful thing about film is that it gets so much closer than stage. I love stage and that's what I started doing and it's a beautiful art form in of itself, but in film you can move your eyes to the side and somehow the audience can fill in the blanks of what you're thinking.