I want to love life.

I love aging. Why would I want to be 21 for the rest of my life?

I never like to get political, but when you have the ability, through your media, to influence a large mass of people, I would want to be a part of the evolving cycle of progress vs. keeping things the way that they are.

There are a lot of magazines that are still sort of... that only cater to a certain demographic and only put certain people on their covers.

I'm so intrigued by women throughout history where the significance of what they were representing at that time is obscured by the fact a man saved them or they were prostitutes.

Every character has their reasons - even the characters who do dumb things.

I think as an American society, when we're paying too many taxes or dealing with war, we don't want to see sad things at the movies.

I don't believe actors who say they don't bleed into their characters. It's absolutely impossible not to.

I am hoping for a long career.

When I act, a part of me goes into the character I am playing.

I love wearing men's clothing and underwear.

I have a hyper personality.

I'm a sci-fi girl. If I can have anything in life, I'd want tons of great science-fiction movies and stories. It's so progressive, beautiful, and imaginative.

Every time an adult is going to write something for a teenager and you don't have, physically, a person who is that, you are always going to be a little off.

There's nobody on this earth who can tell you that what you're feeling is wrong. They can tell you it's different to what they're feeling.

I get along very well with animals and children. I dig them, I get them.

I love the anxiety, the pressure of the loud room full of yapping kids. But I'm a kid myself.

I'm Latin - we start young, honey!

I know the responsibility that entails from telling a story. The one thing I despise the most is when I go to a movie and I see a whole bunch of lazy actors making me waste my time and money.

I'm a girl from Queens. I've never gone, 'What am I doing today? Oh, I'm gonna grab a gun and learn how to use it.'

Physical roles give me a chance to learn something new.

Call me crazy - I love elk meat!

I just want to be part of great stories that are told and for them to be relevant.

I just want to be a part of great stories, whether I'm part of an amazing ensemble cast or I'm leading it or the antagonist or whatever.

If there's anything that I've always said about myself is that to me, it's much more important for me to get to work with filmmakers that I've grown up loving and admiring.

As a woman, you spend so much time either cooking or getting ready to go somewhere. I like to have music when I'm doing either of these things.

In dance you use every party of your body except your voice. I wanted to start acting because I wanted to use my voice.

I had to quit ballet because it felt like a part of me was dying inside.

It gets pretty boring when all you are is the support system for a male character.

I'm very accepting with my age. It's like notches on your belt: experience, wisdom, and a different kind of beauty. There comes a day when you've become comfortable in your skin.

Growing up, my dolls were doctors and on secret missions. I had Barbie Goes Rambo.

To be seen and to be respected for my work and acknowledged as a true American Latina... means a lot to me.

I'm learning the power of going away for the weekend and keeping myself company.

I'm a very feminine person, but I have this hard shell, man, and I stay focused and don't take things personally.

Our brains are very animal but also very strange and egotistical. We're narcissistic.

I'm more of a guy's girl. I like having a beer in a bar, and I don't bicker or sit down and do my nails.

The biggest battle that I have is being a woman in the world. That takes center stage for me.

What doesn't feel okay to me, what feels a little bit out of balance, is when you want to turn yourself into something else - when you want to be another person.

I don't like things like little sandals that look fragile. I like to look strong and commanding.

I want to be the best daughter, sister, friend and wife I can possibly be - because when I die, I am not going to be buried with my Oscar.

I want to be in the small percentage of women who don't settle for conventional roles.

Happiness is nothing but temporary moments here and there - and I love those. But I would be bored out of my mind if I were happy all the time.

I am fluent in Spanish and I understand French, Italian and Portuguese.

I like to look strong and commanding.

A child speaks more sense than an adult half of the time.

Music is a very big participant in everything I do, from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed.

It takes a lot of courage to face up to things you can't do because we feed ourselves so much denial.

People think of Latina women as being fiery and fierce, which is usually true. But I think the quality that so many Latinas possess is strength. I'm very proud to have Latin blood.

Glamour is about feeling good in your own skin.

I don't understand labels. I don't need anybody to tell me I'm Latina or black or anything else. I've played characters that were written for Caucasian females, I just want to be given the same consideration as everybody else, and so far that has been happening.