I was always longing to do, emotionally and physically, what my male counterparts always got to do. I just felt envious, every time I saw a movie that I was in awe of, and it was usually a male lead. And those kinds of roles weren't available. They just weren't being written.

We don't trust anyone who does anything nice. That's just the sad world we live in.

I was a brownie for a day. My mom made me stop. She didn't want me to conform.

As for doing more dramatic work over comedy, I do whatever turns me on at the moment.

People came to my parents' parties because they were going to have fun and, if lucky, our mother would belly dance. What they didn't know was that the hostess made sure every morsel placed in front of them was pure and without anything artificial, no matter what the cost.

I did love that scene in the movie [ "Our Brand Is Crisis"] because it's like "The Wizard of Oz." You see the backstage action of politics. You have access to see behind the curtain. You see how it's all one big advertisement.

I think most people have that out-of-body experience when they win the Oscar.