When picking a show, I took into consideration who my fans are. Let's be honest, Buffy was a mid-season replacement on The WB, based on a failed movie. If it wasn't for the outpouring of fans and critics supporting us, we would have been canceled after four episodes. Sure, you want to stretch and you want to do different things, but it's also our job to think about who our fans are and what they want to see. Ultimately, that's why we do.

All joking aside, I'm a television watcher and I get frustrated with shows sometimes when they set up puzzles and then they don't give answers. It's just more questions and more questions.

Being an actor gives you a chance to play all kinds of roles, very moving and dramatic on one project, silly and girlish on another. That's the most interesting thing out this business, you get to keep reinventing yourself.

It used to be only on TV that women could lead, that a show could be based on a woman

But there are still only certain film genres where a woman can stand out, be heroic, be the centerpiece.

It's a terrible process, what you go through, during pilot season. All the shows turn themselves in and there is a good four to six weeks before you get phone call.

People always tell me how lucky I am that my kids are adventurous eaters, but I don't believe that it's luck at all. By my involving them in the process, not only are they more likely to try something new, but also I can count on them to make better choices when I'm not around.