I've loved making movies. I feel like I've been so lucky because I've gotten to be in movies that are some of my favorites, regardless of my being in them - like 'Heathers.'

I'm not interested in playing the girl that's just there to make the guy, you know, give him a talking to.

Even though 'Heathers' didn't make a lot of money, I really was able to transition into a situation where people thought I could play an attractive role because of it.

I loved movies, but I can't remember ever really wanting to be an actress, and I certainly didn't imagine ever being in a movie. I think I wanted to be a writer.

I've learned that it's OK to be flawed, that life can be messy, that some days you glide and some days you fall, but most important, that there are no secret answers out there.

I think I really scored with my parents. All of my friends pretty much came from broken homes, and my parents are still together, but not only that, they're still in love and still write together.

Crazy isn't being broken, or swallowing a dark secret. It's you or me, amplified.

My parents are awesome, but they're pretty left-wing.

You have good days and bad days, and depression's something that, you know, is always with you.

I love books and going to bookstores. My favorite sound is the sound of the needle hitting the record.

A woman who wears high heels is very different, I think, than a woman who wears sandals.

What's awful about being famous and being an actress is when people come up to you and touch you. That's scary, and they just seem to think it's okay to do it, like you're public property.

I don't want to preach, and I don't want to tell people what to do.

I love westerns. John Ford is one of the 10 best directors.

I've learned that it's OK to be flawed.

You can't pay enough money to... cure that feeling of being broken and confused.

My father is an atheist. My mother is Buddhist. They encouraged my siblings and me to take the best part of other religions to make our own belief system.

For a long time, I was almost ashamed of being an actress. I felt like it was a shallow occupation. People would be watching my every move.

I write pretty much every day, but I don't have any desire to publish anything.

If I showed you scripts from my first few movies, the descriptions of my characters all said 'the ugly girl'.

I'm quite comfortable looking at myself in movies, probably because I've been doing it for so long, since I was a kid. So I sort of watched myself grow up and go through adolescence, like, basically on camera.

I thought it was a cool parallel. Being replaced by the young thing. I know that definitely happens in Hollywood. It's harder to find good roles, and suddenly there's new girls. I'm at that age I've been warned my whole life about.

As an actress, you want to try new things. You don't want to repeat yourself. That becomes more important to you, as you get older.

It's really good to be able to think about past loves without having a pit in my stomach, or cringing or feeling heart-broken, or like they hate you. Don't you think?

I remember when I first started being in magazines, I had pretty thin skin. I was this nerd that read books and stayed home and didn't go out.

I feel my best when I'm happy.

I'd always find the positive in someone.

There was a time when I was 19 when I really, really, really thought I was going crazy. I was exhausted and going through a terrible depression.

I don't use the Internet, but apparently you can find out everything on it.

You go through spells where you feel that maybe you're too sensitive for this world. I certainly felt that.

I remember the whole thing with the word ambition. I was messed up for a while because I associated it with certain people who just want to be famous. I think, for a while, it was kind of a dirty word for women.

It's just people should realize that the celebrity aspect of being an actor is very rarely enjoyable for people like me who would always rather go unnoticed and disappear into the crowd.

As an actress, you go where the stories are. I don't really care where it's seen, at this point. I just want to tell good stories and do good roles that I haven't done before.

It's part of the celebrity process but my life has never been as interesting or as wild as what's been printed about me.

I'm quite comfortable looking at myself in movies, probably because I've been doing it for so long, since I was a kid. So I sort of watched myself grow up and go through adolescence, like, basically on camera.

But I've always felt a need to have a life which is completely separate - at least as far as possible - from the kind of illusory lifestyle that comes with being a celebrity.

I'm the type who'd rather not work than work on something I'm not into. I've done that a couple of times, and I feel like I can totally see it in my performance.

I don't hang out with agents and producers and I'm not into the business side at all.

What's awful about being famous and being an actress is when people come up to you and touch you. That's scary, and they just seem to think it's okay to do it, like you're public property.

I was regarded as the school freak which further reinforced a lot of inhibitions and doubts I had about myself. I was a shy, frightened teenager for a long time.

It's an indication of how cynical our society has become that any kind of love story with a sad theme is automatically ridiculed as sentimental junk.

I have this sense that I didn't really start growing up until my twenties.

You can't pay enough money to... cure that feeling of being broken and confused.

I think I'm probably a better sport. You tend to really just freak when you lose. You have a real hard time with it.

Since half of all trees cut go to making paper, the only meaningful way to address destruction of our forest is to change the way paper is made.

There's just something extraordinary about that Selma Hayek.

If we're living in a free country,we should be free to do what we want to do if we're not hurting anyone else or their property. Why should I be incarcerated if I'm doing something that doesn't hurt anyone else?

I've been in so many good movies that I felt like nobody saw; it's a pretty dreadful feeling.

There are a helluva lot more of us who care about our environment in the world than we realize. We're the majority, and we can do something about that

When you make love, you must be making love.