I love to be surprised.
I love Saturday nights with my best friend and a big bowl of pasta, wanting a good scare, something that will say, 'Listen, your life is not as bad as this. Your life can be so much worse.'
I look for struggle in the roles I choose - struggle and perseverance.
I just hate one-dimensional portrayals of religion; it's too cheap and easy to do, and ignores the nuances that go into having a belief system.
I just can't feel lukewarm about a character. I either despise her, admire her, or don't understand her and want to understand her.
I have the best husband a wife could possibly have. He's the best father my children could have.
I have tender, romantic associations with upstate New York.
I hate being manipulated by song. Don't tell me what I should be feeling. I don't want cellos or violins to be telling me that I should be bawling right now.
I grew up in a Ukrainian Catholic-turned-Christian household, and that is my family's faith.
I feel my fuller-bodied characters are all in the independent films I do, and in the studio productions, I have to work harder to dimensionalize the characters. And that's certainly part of the job description of an actor - that's what you're supposed to do - but you have to work harder at it in the
I don't necessarily need Hollywood.
I don't have a caustic sense of humor. What I find funny, that humor comes from a much gentler place.
I didn't grow up watching film but as a Ukrainian-American, music and stories and dance are crucial.
I come from a massive family, and the youngest is twentysomething years younger than I am, so I grew up with children.
I chase after inspiring stories.
I can't get my knickers in a twist about my age and ageing in an industry that caters to the ids of 14-year-olds.
I am drawn to intimate, often uncomfortable portraits of a woman persevering and awakening.
Honestly, I think a good film is spiritual, regardless of whether its subject is faith.
Faith is important to me.
Editing yourself is like an irksome coin toss. You've got to strip yourself of super ego and operate from the id. Maybe I've got my Freud mixed up. It's just hard to trade a beauty shot for the performance with truth and a brightly lit zit.
Editing is not a part of the filmmaking process I've ever been privy to as an actress.
Doubt is the middle position between knowledge and ignorance. It encompasses cynicism but also genuine questioning.
Do I pray? Yes. Prayer is very important to me.
As an actor, you're sort of the court-appointed lawyer for the character.
Am I ambitious? I used to be afraid of that word but now I think ambition is a good thing.
