This is someone who has a very stringent morality, and believes the system works, and has been deeply, deeply disappointed, and hurt, by it. You know, so she's in a very different place in life.

Comedy is ridiculously hard. And if the rhythm is not right, if the music or the line is not right, it's not funny.

You know, comedy's hard. With drama, you have a responsibility to the emotional truth, but with comedy, you have emotional truth and you have technique on top of it.

I can't wait to get home and wash all those socks.

She's in a situation she tried to, that's what's complicated. She followed orders; she called off the raid. This is a dangerous situation. Somebody in DC police went ahead and started.

There was a period of time in America where the advertising world actually went to the housewives of America and had them write jingles that would appeal to them. It was actually brilliant marketing.

Actually I did, because I saw the film like everyone else, ten years ago and I remembered some of it. I just wanted to see it, to kind of remember the tone a little bit.

This is someone who has a very stringent morality, and believes the system works, and has been deeply, deeply disappointed, and hurt, by it. You know, so she's in a very different place in life.

Well, you know, I mean, she was so wonderful, and she really played the role to perfection.

'Safe' was a script that I read and flipped out for.

All I wanted was to be a regional-theater actor, to be in a company. I thought it would be a great life. I don't think I understood how difficult it would be.

Art is an expression of who we are, what we believe, and what we dream about.

As an actor, all you have is what you know and what you see in other people. The more you know, and the more you've experienced, the more you're able to communicate to other people.

As an actor, there are places you can live, and when I graduated from school, it was either New York or L.A., and I liked the East Coast. That's why I ended up in New York.

At the Golden Globes, they put all the bigger stars in the front; the movie stars in the front, TV actors in the back. But even as a movie star, you can be outseated by a bigger star in any given year. It's kind of hilarious. You have to take it in stride.

Behavior is mutable. It changes from place to place. It's like accents, dialect - it varies from one area to another. But there are universal truths about what it means to be a human being. All the other stuff is like applique. Learning that was interesting to me and probably useful for becoming an actor.

Being middle-aged is about realising that you've lived most of your life. You don't have as much time in front of you as you have behind you.

Even ordinary people aren't ordinary, not really. They're filled up with thoughts and feelings that you might never know are there until they suddenly materialise.

Every child is so different. Their experience growing up and their experience relating to the world has so much to do with their temperament, and their likes and their dislikes.

Every different social group that I encountered had its different set of rules, so you learn very quickly how to pick up the nuances and change yourself accordingly. When you are not from anywhere, you have to try to find what's universal. You are always trying to fit in.

Every modern woman shops everywhere for beauty, but for me it's mostly the airport or the drugstore.

Frankly, acting doesn't scare me because I really enjoy it.

Green screen's not my favourite thing to do.

I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have to know where the lens is, what the shot is, and where you're moving. And then you have to trick yourself into an emotional state where you believe this stuff is actually happening.

I can only be in the sun for 15 minutes before burning. I have sunscreen on my face every day. If I'm walking on the sunny side of the street, I'll walk to the shady side. I'm too uncomfortable in the sun.

I can see how Americans misconstrue British reserve, and I can see how British people misconstrue American enthusiasm. I think I'm somewhere in between the two. Although I'm outgoing, I'm also very private.

I did find it particularly difficult to do Broadway. It was not my favourite way to perform. When I do theatre, I like it to be smaller. I like the audience to be closer; I like it to be less presentational.

I do love my work. As an actor, you live from job to job, though, and you have to be prepared for that.

I do remember when I was starting acting, going from one set to the next, with not much else going on in my life. And at the end of the day, you get back to your hotel room and just feel this awful loneliness, because the cameras have stopped rolling.

I don't know why women do Botox. It doesn't make them look younger, it just makes them look like they had work done. You are not going to look the same as you did at 25.

I have a husband and two kids, and they're usually around when I'm shooting, then I go home. We have dinner, and that's what I'm dealing with when I go home.

I have a very, very normal life. I really do - with the exception of being very lucky and privileged. I have two children, a dog, and a husband. We live in New York, the kids go to school, and we're fortunate that we have flexible schedules. I like that. That's what I want.

I have women friends who are significantly younger and older than me.

I knew from very early on that I wanted kids. I wasn't one of those women who goes, 'Well, if it happens, it happens.' I really wanted a family. Although I didn't actually have my first child until I was 37, I always felt I'd get there.

I love clothes - I love shopping for clothes, I love wearing clothes, I love talking about clothes - but oddly, putting on the dress and walking around in front of people, that's the place where I'm most uncomfortable.

I love going to Scotland.

I love my kids with all my heart and the last thing I want to worry about is the air they breathe.

I moved frequently because my dad was in the army, so I was always new in school. I think if you've ever done that, you know what it means to not matter in a room. I think it's a good experience for everyone to have, to feel like they're not noticed, because it teaches you to be empathetic.

I read a lot growing up. It was kind of my comfort, you know; I loved it. I love story. I love narrative. I was academic. I wasn't particularly athletic. I didn't make the drill team. I didn't go out for sports.

I think every part's a challenge, and you also never know if you're going to pull it off.

I think everybody has had emotional distress, but yes, I think I'm pretty stable.

I think everybody's political. The act of being alive is political. Unless you choose to be a hermit, you're automatically political because you're part of a community.

I think it's always hard to find great roles, no matter what age you are. So I always say to people, 'You have to remember that Hollywood is in the business of making movies that they can sell tickets to; they're not in the business of finding great roles for actors.'

I think people are always really surprised when they realise I'm not a very serious person and that I'm not tremendously serious about acting. I don't like to rehearse; I hate improv. Directors that don't like to talk, they're my favourite ones.

I think that one of the things that you do learn is that falling in love and being in love with someone is a rarity. That you don't fall in love as many times as you think you're going to. And then when you do, it's really special; it's really important.

I think to be courageous, you have to be afraid. For me, it feels very courageous when I go skiing because I'm very, very afraid to ski. It's dangerous! I feel very scared. But when I'm acting, I don't feel very scared.

I was somebody who was not athletic. I was highly imaginative; I loved to read, and I loved nothing more than being in a story... I didn't want to play ball; I wanted to imagine something and read something.

I went with Tom Ford to a bunch of events one year, and he's so wonderful and handsome and so much fun to be with; he made me look, like, 100 percent better in every single picture.

I'm a very basic dresser. I'm not interested in calling too much attention to myself. I like to look cool without being too noticeable.