I have a feeling that very soon I'm going to fail very, very big. I'm going to try something and everybody's going to be like, 'What was she thinking?'

No one ever recognizes me.

I was excited that my films would finally see the light of day and people would see them. But I never imagined that such nice things would be said about a lot of my films.

I grew up poor.

It takes me a long time to make a big purchase.

I love being around great actors and film-makers, and I try to hide the fact that I'm in awe of them.

I've never been in New York for the whole time of Fashion Week.

I love fall because I love the whole cuddling aspect of it, and a sweater dress has that vibe of I'm going to hunker down and be warm, but it's also very feminine.

One of my favorite parts of being an actress is being a detective.

I am not one to go for traditional female roles, because I don't think traditionally female characters are very interesting, and I don't think they represent real life.

I'm working hard to break free of stereotypes that the film industry has created and nurtured around women.

We have a long way to go in the world in all industries. If I'm in the situation where I have equal experience to the other actor and my role is just as significant, there is no reason why I should be paid less. It's not really part of my world anymore, because I just won't accept it.

In our society, women are valued for their sexual attraction. I'd like to get away from the sex symbol idea of what beauty is. Actually, that's probably the farthest thing from beauty, because it's makeup and hair, it's pouty lips - it's not real.

The reason we like acting is connecting to other people.

I'm really inspired by stories I didn't know about.

I look at all the ingredients of a film and say, 'Is this a positive thing that I'm putting into the world? Is there honor and respect in the way the story is being told about them? And would they approve of that?'

I was the first one in my family to go to college.

I just want to see more women in film and behind the camera. I'm tired of seeing movies from one perspective.

Funny how defined we are by how we present ourselves to the world.

If I get a role, it's because I fought for it.

I don't know if there will ever be a day that I'm not wearing heels. I'm a very big personality, and I don't like to look up at other people.

There have been situations where I have lost movies because I've said, 'This is not a fair deal,' and I've walked away.

My favourite smell is the smell of cut grass, and the sound of sprinklers going on.

I'm a shadow whisperer: I hide in the shadows. And I tend to avoid places where I might get photographed and end up with my picture in the press.

I just don't think of myself as a movie star - I'm an actress.

For the most part, I was surprised by the representation of female characters onscreen. I do hope that when we include more female storytellers, we will have more of the women that I recognize in my day to day life.

I'm going to do anything I can to be there and support any organization that empowers and creates opportunities for women.

One of my goals is to play a villain in a Bond film. People ask me if I want to be a Bond girl, and I say, 'No, I want to be the villain.' I'm waiting for that call!

My grandmother was my inspiration. She was the person who took me to the theater and encouraged me to act, and she's the one who always believed in me.

I talked to congressmen who really hate having to go to the many fundraisers, but they see it as a necessary part of their job.

There's a lot of criticism on how an actress is aging. Why do we do that with women? I work with a lot of men who take terrible care of themselves - they drink too much, or they eat too much. We need to allow women to age.

I do know that people treat me different with blonde hair than they do with red hair.

I grew up in a low-income family. I was raised by a single mother.

I think, in the past, being brave - being powerful, being strong - were qualities that people associated with being masculine. And I think... no, I don't think - I know that now we're realizing they can be feminine, too.

If I'm in Italy, I'll have an espresso, but I try not to get my energy from things like that.

My goal is that a girl will watch 'The Martian' or 'Interstellar' and think, 'I want to be an astronaut or a quantum physicist.' It's important to show powerful women who are good at their jobs because young girls need those examples.

This is what the media does with women. You try to divide and conquer women so you can intimidate and victimise them. This is why they don't make movies where a lot of women get to be on set together. It's about dividing.

I'm not taking jobs anymore where I'm getting paid a quarter of what the male co-star is being paid. I'm not allowing that in my life.

What I do now, when I'm taking on a film, I always ask about the fairness of the pay. I ask what they're offering me in comparison to the guy. I don't care about how much I get paid; I'm in an industry where we're overcompensated for the work we do.

If you want me in your film, do a favored-nation clause. Don't determine my worth based on what's left over.

I can't tell you how many incredible directors I long to work with, but then I look at their IMDb page, and they haven't made a single movie about a woman.

We have grown up watching women be used as props on a man's journey. It's not our fault that that's what we saw as children. But we need to acknowledge that and do better.

We know in our society, women are valued for their sexual desirability and not necessarily for what they have to say.

My grandmother took me to a play, and... there was a little girl on stage. And as soon as I saw her on stage, I thought, 'This is my job'... I was probably, like, 7 or 8. I was very young... It was 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.

My grandmother came with me when I moved out to New York. She stayed with me for a week. I was, you know, living in the dorm. The first year, I had a lot of anxiety, and, I remember, my teachers kept saying I had so much jaw tension.

I understood the importance of doing an Aaron Sorkin film. He's a political filmmaker.

As an actor, I have a lot of fear, thinking that if I speak my mind, or something that feels like it deviates from the norm as a woman, am I going to be made to disappear in my industry?

I find it very interesting: when 90 percent of the critics that review films are men, how is that helpful when trying to create stories from a feminine point of view?

If someone doesn't want to hire me because they think I'm too vocal, fine. I will do a play. I will always find a job. Let them try to get me out of this industry. I am not going to be silenced!

If I can help create empathy and balance in society, I'm going to do whatever I can to tell stories that subconsciously create that.