There are many actresses that are working longer, because until you change the playing field and make it economically stronger for women, it's very difficult to say no to somebody when that's your only gig. If you're a producer, or if you have more power, you're going to be in a position to know that if you burn that bridge, there'll still be this bridge open. But still - when people ask me 'do you think your politics have decreased your chances of working, I say: 'In Hollywood, most of the prejudice has to do with if you're old or fat.' Power can't forgive that".

We have more families at risk with the death penalty. It targets the voiceless, the poor, people of color. And so it's important just to understand what your government is doing and how much they are spending.

By the time I went to the Catholic University of America, which was the time the priests were all leaving with the nuns, the more I studied about the Bible and how it came about, the more I lost my faith.

There have been a few little films I'd done like that that the studio just decided not to do much with, films like Anywhere but Here [1999] or Jeff, Who Lives at Home [2012]. Thank God people find them later and love them. I'm always really drawn to people who have seen these strange little films.

So I think (Obama) definitely has convinced people that he stands for change and for hope, and I can't wait to see what he stands for.

It's still not easy to find roles that offer more complex images of women.

I don't like to plan. Very often, for me, acting is like loving; it's using the muscle that you use in loving, in that your heart feels open. Physically, you feel open. And so therefore your job is to enter, open, and listen. And see what happens.