There is something so sad about going online and seeing almost everyone shouting ‘Notice me, notice me!’ Which is such a human desire—to be acknowledged. But me responding to that with some sort of ‘You’re noticed, you’re seen’ only perpetuates the loneliness. Because I’m not seeing you; I’m not noticing you. And whoever you are, you so deserve to be noticed and valued. I feel lucky to have not grown up with the Internet because it forced me to get out, struggle and be so messy.

Whatever it is that I am working on is what I become obsessed with.

I had an unorthodox high-school experience; I shifted around to different schools. When I got to college and met Larry Sacharow, who ran the theatre department [at Fordham University in NYC], he was the first person to say ‘I believe in you.’ At that point, I just needed someone to say ‘I see you, I get you, let’s go.’ It’s an amazing thing to borrow someone else’s confidence in you; it can change your life.

If it's a good day, I get 'The New York Times' on my iPad, and if I have a little time in the morning, I like to look at that while I'm eating.

I dont like it when people dont hold the door. I dont know, that really bugs me... I guess I like manners.

I try not to eat too many raw vegetables. I only have one raw meal a day. At night I eat warm, cooked foods. I like to drink lots of tea, but no coffee. Not drinking coffee has changed my game for the better.

I had a hard time on TV, the last time on television, so I wasn't sure that I wanted to do that again. But, I really am a big fan of Jenji and I knew this is her next thing, so I read it. And once I read the script, I was really, really impressed that there was a woman who was the centerpiece of her own story, and that she was in the center of her own narrative.