I have a lot more writing experience than Paul Dano has, so to be able to put that experience to use in exercising his vision was almost an acting exercise: How would I write if I were Paul? When I look at it, it feels so completely his, but it's also mine.

I wouldn't wear makeup, and I didn't like to let boys open the door for me because I felt like it was sexist.

If I ever feel that acting is just soul-sucking and I don't want to do it anymore, I could stop.

When my sister decided that she wanted to act, I was so nervous for her. She's doing great, but I have a lot of friends at every level of success as an actor, and we all go through periods of time where they feel like their worth isn't within their own control. That's a horrible feeling for an adult to have.

There are people a lot smarter than me investigating nature versus nurture who would have a lot to say about that, but I think it's an enormous privilege to be born into a family where my parents had enough time to read to me and listen to my stories and foster my imagination. It's a privilege to have time to investigate your imagination. And not to have, like, an amount of stress on you as a kid that prevents you from maturing creatively.

I find playwriting really painful. I love it, or I wouldn't do it, but I don't love the theater as much as I love movies.

On a personal level, just for me in my own work, I would say the most interesting thing has been getting to work with the people that I've worked with.