I guess I do a really good job at covering.

I feel less pressure to dress youthfully. I'm 50 and everyone knows I'm 50 - who are you kidding? Jeans are my uniform. I have about 15 pairs.

I used to do drugs in high school. I've been living in L.A. for almost 10 years, and shortly after I arrived I cleaned up pretty much. Stuff goes on on the set, stuff goes on at parties.

Acting's an odd profession for a young person; it's so extreme. You work, and the conditions are tough and the process is so immersive, and then it stops, and then there's nothing. So you have to find ways of making you feel productive when you're not actually producing anything. For a young person, that's really challenging.

I like understanding what's underneath, what's really motivating people. When I was younger, I wanted to be a psychiatrist, so I think it has to do with that.

I said, going into acting, 'I'm never moving to L.A.,' because it scared me. But there was no way you could build an acting career in Orange County.

I like being prepared. When things are going on and I have to learn my lines at the last minute, I'm never quite secure enough to allow it to be spontaneous. So the more prepared I am, the more I'm able to kind of let it go . . .