Making films can be very lonely, and that's the part I don't like. I don't want to feel like I'm pressing 'pause' on my personal life to make a movie. I want to feel like I'm still creating relationships and things are moving forward.

I always say I am a realist, and my mom says, 'No, you just have anxiety.'

Only a woman can tell you what it's like to be a woman in a society where men are in charge. When you have one demographic that controls the livelihood of minorities, then you're always going to have abuses of power. So this goes way beyond Hollywood.

I like characters and stories that challenge the status quo. Lately, I'm really interested in history because I find that in my public school education, I didn't learn about women in history. I want to introduce the world to some great stories and incredible heroes.

I struggled for so long to try to create a career.

People were confused by me, and at first I was auditioning a lot for the crazy characters or the victim, someone who'd been attacked. Which is great, because usually those are the best acting roles.

I'm a true believer that you get out of something what you put into it.

Green tea throughout the day is the healthiest thing I've discovered for me.

I don't want people to look at me.

I have problems because I'm very expressive, and usually red lipstick gets on my teeth and face.

When something happens, I always check myself and know it's going to go away. So be prepared for it. This is a tough business for actors who are sensitive. If you try to hold on to things, you'll go crazy.

The great thing about modern feminism is that women can define what it means to them: it can mean being ambitious, it can mean being emotional, it can mean being sensitive and compassionate and also a leader. It can mean all those things.

I take great responsibility in any character that I play.

When you take away healthcare from women, you're keeping women out of the workforce because you're eliminating their choice of when to start a family.

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I don't think anyone knew what to do with me.

I think that with any emotion - fear, love, nervousness - if the actor's feeling it, then the audience feels it.

Okay, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I'm a very superstitious person. I'm walking onto the plane as we speak. I'm putting my hands on the outside of the plane and my feet are on the lip of the plane. I have to do it every time before I fly.

Everyone has to learn how to live in an environment that has not made it easy for women to claim their place, so I think it's all women's responsibility to step forward.

The power of 'no' means you're educating people in how to treat you.

I'm inspired by people who are so sensitive and vulnerable that they try to cover it up.

I never heard in my entire life that a man was overprepared for anything. I am overprepared in my life. What's wrong with being ambitious, being overprepared, being one step ahead?

Some people think I've had a nose job. I've never had anything like that done, but I have no judgement of anyone that does.

Being a woman has always been a powerful thing, where history has sometimes dictated otherwise, but I believe that a woman can be compassionate, sensitive, soft, kind.

I went to public school, and I didn't do well in school. And it wasn't until, actually, I got into school at Juilliard - it was the first time in my life that I thought, 'Oh, maybe I'm not stupid,' because I was so inspired and passionate about what I was learning, and it was the first time in my life I had felt that.