I am drawn to intimate, often uncomfortable portraits of a woman persevering and awakening.

I feel my fuller-bodied characters are all in the independent films I do, and in the studio productions, I have to work harder to dimensionalize the characters. And that's certainly part of the job description of an actor - that's what you're supposed to do - but you have to work harder at it in the characters that I've encountered in studio films.

Partying has never been my thing. I've been around some wild people. I've been in the same room and watched them experiment, and that's been entertaining.

I just wanted to make sure that yes, that those horror - they worked as a genre. To me, I just wanted to be touched by the film in the way that I saw plausible. Which is the story about compassion - giving and receiving it in those desperate times of need.

It's terrifying to be the lead. There's a moment of excitement, and then pure terror.

I'm pretty squeaky clean. No big tragedies in my childhood or adolescence or adulthood. I've had a very easygoing, simple life.

I just can't feel lukewarm about a character. I either despise her, admire her, or don't understand her and want to understand her.