Because I think in order to get famous you have to be known for something. Like 'You're the romantic comedy girl' or 'You're the Oscar-winning whatever girl.'

I always do my interviews face to face.

In L.A., unless you've just won an Oscar or you're Mr. Studio Head, no one talks to you. Even at parties.

I was advised by an American agent when I was about 19 to change my surname.

I think acting came later in life when I went to college. I started out there. I wasn't a big star in the school plays or anything. I guess I just really liked stories. I was an English-literature major, and that's all about stories and narratives. Film and theater are very powerful storytelling mediums. You sit in a dark room and enter another world. I love that as a member of the audience, and I sort of wanted to get on the other side.

Seeing someone you know be good at something is really appealing. Seeing how Darren Aronofsky behaved on set, it was another aspect of him, the director. He'd never directed me at home in the kitchen before. It was just seeing a whole other aspect of someone. It was really, really exciting. I loved it.

When you're doing comedy, you're not trying to be funny. I think things are funny when the character is taking it totally seriously. I think when people are winking, it becomes slapstick, it becomes something else.