If you have the opportunity to play these characters that are three-dimensional and very deeply rooted in an emotional level, they stay with you. They lived in you anyway, the density of them. It takes a while to realize how they've influenced you.

I never felt safe. In high school, acting is what I did to stay sane. It wasn't about showing off; it was about revealing parts of myself that I couldn't reveal anyplace else.

Many people must have looked at my life and thought I was quite fortunate. But I felt lousy about myself - and as you now know, I didn't come from a place where I had a lot of self-confidence.

There's always been a shortage of roles for three-dimensional women, no matter what age. If you look at the statistics on women in film, be they behind the camera or in front of the camera, and it's pretty nauseous-making. It always has been.

You know, people really don't understand what actors do.

I really have no ulterior motive in taking on certain roles. I have no larger issue that I really want to show people. I'm an actor, that's all. I just do what I do.

I had to let my ego go a long time ago.