When I look at female characters, I want to recognize myself in them - my trials, my tribulations as a mother, as a wife, as a lover, as a daughter.

I grew up in a Ukrainian Catholic-turned-Christian household, and that is my family's faith.

Am I ambitious? I used to be afraid of that word but now I think ambition is a good thing.

I spent a lot of time reading blogs by mothers who had children with varying degrees of neural dysfunction, from schizophrenia to all sorts of different issues. And honestly, I don't think it's different for anybody. There's no right way to make sure your child will be emotionally and mentally healthier. It's just frustrating.

It's thematic in my career, if you look at most of my choices. It is some level of exploration of maternal angst and maternal heroism.

I have a two-year-old who just turned three, and my four-year-old just turned five. I have the same irrational feelings taking them to pre-school. It's this charged combination of stress and joy and anxiety and excitement. When they're away, you've got a sudden loss of purpose and this ever-present fear about the kid's welfare. The departure of our children from our nest is not an easy thing.

The more people know about you, the more face-time you get in the media, the harder your job becomes to create a character in whom people suspend disbelief.