Hope Davis

When my dad needed a shirt ironed, he would yell downstairs to my mother, who would drop everything and iron his shirt.

Every summer my husband and I pack our suitcases, load our kids into the car, and drive from tense, crowded New York City to my family's cottage in Maine. It's on an island, with stretches of sea and sandy beaches, rocky coasts, and pine trees. We barbecue, swim, lie around, and try to do nothing.

I have a husband and children, and it affects me deeply that somebody could be taken away in a second.

I've been lucky. I've made films that I really like. It's been a combination of what comes to me and what I choose. I've gone after lots of things that I didn't get, pet projects that everybody ends up chasing after. Really, you're lucky if you get anything.

I have not spent years in therapy; I tried therapy in my mid-twenties, and it did not go very well. I just thought, 'This is so not for me. I would rather talk to one of my girlfriends.'

I've seen a lot of the United States, having stayed in so many different cities and towns for work.

I haven't frequented a nail salon in a long time.

I travel all the time, and I have two small children.

I've seen a lot of the United States, having stayed in so many different cities and towns for work. It's such a strange and fascinating country, and instead of learning about it through a textbook, I would rather discover its history and traditions and institutions through fiction and nonfiction writers.

I'm way too disorganized.

I'm a New Yorker, and I rarely get to work at home.

You know how a lot of people say they could go crazy? Well, I feel I live very close to that line.

I'm not really high-strung now, but I was a very high-strung child.

I feel like I'm one of the happiest people I know.

Storytelling is what lights my fire.

I'm not at a point in my life when I'm analyzing too much.

I just love to make a whole roomful of people laugh.

It's too easy to sum up a person's character in one negative instant, and it doesn't put anything good out into the world.

I'm usually called upon to play the dreary suicidal girl.

I love stories that give me a perspective on how easy American life has become in the 21st century.

The older you get, the more you realize that the way you look is a reflection of how you treat yourself.

But I think Hillary Clinton is one of the most amazing women of this time.

There's nothing I love more than a good cry.

I get to play a lot of hysterics.

I like to work. I enjoy once a year, doing a film.

You know what I have noticed? And this is really sad. Flying first class is less scary than flying coach. They speak to you and they're so nice to you and they want to help you and they know you want a drink before the plane takes off. And they bring it to you without asking. If you're sitting in coach and hoping for a drink, good luck.