I grew up in a suburb of Ohio, in a small town, and I resonated with that small-town feeling where everybody knows your business.

I wanted to go to New York and be a stage actress, doing things like Chekhov. None of that happened, and then I went to L.A. and an agent said, 'I think you belong in commercials and TV.' So I did that and got some opportunities that I absolutely love.

I told my agent which women I aspire to have a career like: Frances McDormand, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney and Emma Thompson - character actresses who have something to say. I also said that I loved Madeline Kahn and Jessica Lange.

I come from the place of thinking, 'Whatever works for people' - and if you haven't been exposed to anything else, you really don't know better.

When I moved to New York out of college, that was my goal. To be a stage actress. And to do dramatic works. Like Madea, and Night, Mother, and Sam Shepard, and all that kind of stuff. Thats what I really wanted to do.

I told my agents that I love Holly Hunter and Frances McDormand and all of these women who are good at doing comedies, as well as dramas.

In my early 20s, I didn't even know what the Groundlings was. I had no idea. But I know how to break down a script and work on the character.