I guess I stopped acting when I was 18 and didn't pick it up again until I was 21. That wasn't the plan, though. When I first started at Yale, the plan was to do a movie each summer.

I actually think in some ways that it might be more challenging to be bipolar because it's so mercurial - it's so ever-changing. You can't get any traction. You can't build on a system. Whereas, somebody who has Asperger's, which is certainly a much more forgiving expression of autism, can create models for coping and build on them over time.

As a young performer, I didn't know that you can have a great time playing someone in terrible crisis. The more you know it's not real, the deeper you can go into it. And the easier it is to let it go when it's done.

I've always had a really active imagination. Lots of kids have imaginary friends. Mine just took on a rather demonic form.

I don't know any celebrated people that register in a big way who aren't unique.

I was a serious kid to an absurd degree. I was overwhelmed with responsibility. You know, trying to play grown up. I overdid it.

I'm just a big old nerd.

I like reading novels because it provides insight into human behavior. I am really interested in feelings and think they are what define us as a species. When you really get it right in acting, it's an act of empathy. You feel less distant from others, and that is really exciting.

I would not say that secret-keeping is one of my finer skills, actually.

Growing up in New York City, I was always encouraged to question authority, and I think I confused patriotism with jingoism.

So much of my job is about finding another job, and that's really boring.

I have to say that my dad's face is very malleable. He's barely got any cartilage in his face. I think I maybe inherited that Play-Doh-like physicality from him.

My first offer was when I was 12, and it was for a soap opera. And I turned it down because I knew that I was an unformed actor, and I didn't want to develop bad habits.

Television lets audiences deeply connect with characters.

I was a pretty nerdy kid. I was pretty nerdy. I'm still kind of nerdy. I have all of the worst qualities of being a nerd - all of the affect and none of the smarts. I'm a useless nerd! That's pretty bad.

I started working when I was very young. I got an agent when I was 12, and fortunately was employed consistently from that point on. So I didn't really go to a conventional high school. I was tutored on sets and things.

I really have never been concerned about being beautiful on-screen. That's just not my jam.

I love sitting in the makeup trailer and getting my makeup done in 15 minutes as opposed to an hour and a half.

I care about being formally physically attractive in my life, and I think that I am quite vain about my performance. I'm just not vain about how I look while I give the performance.

I am a feminist.

The twenties are a deceptively challenging-slash-painful time. I'm just glad to be out of that phase.

I'm happier in my thirties. I feel clearer about who I am and less apologetic about it, and more accepting of my limitations and also more aware of the ways in which I'm capable.

You have to come to work from a place of love.

I still have a book club with my friends from when I was 5. That's the privilege of growing up in a place where people want to remain. It's a huge gift.

I've never been interested or particularly good at censoring my experience.

I would be a terrible CIA officer in real life.

Germany's fascinating. It's a really rich landscape to film and dramatise.

I wouldn't say that I'm a naturally political beast.

It's been a great privilege to see how interwoven nations are and how incredibly complex these relationships are. It's so elaborate.

Working gives you this new perspective. You don't take everything too seriously, and you realise that if you don't do too well on a history test, it's not the end of the world.

When somebody asks me who I'm wearing, I always see myself with a BabyBjoern, carrying a little tiny Karl Lagerfeld, like, 'I'm wearing Chanel.'

I do feel like I've gotten younger as I've aged.

It's a very young mistake to assume that life is very serious. I get the joke now.

I think you can become dependent on fame and be as known as you want to be, you know?

I don't want to be an actress. I want to be doing good work that is well written and has good people in it.

I eat in moderation and try not to worry about it.

I try to eat sensibly. I cheat, but for the most part, I eat in a clean way.

I exercise more for mental relaxation than anything else.

It's OK to want to look and feel your best. It's OK to work at being attractive, whatever that means to you. And it's also OK to not expect to be defined by that. It's OK to be powerful in every way: to be big, to take up space. To breathe and thrive.

Oh, I'm full of fear. I care about things; therefore, I have fears. I like to think that I'm brave, which is different. Brave means you're able to admit that you care. If you care, you are vulnerable.

I'm very vain about my performance. I want to give as honest a performance as I can. But I'm not so worried about being regarded as beautiful when I'm playing a character.