Because Shakespeare’s language is so expansive, we’re under this misconception that it’s difficult. But I discovered that it’s easy because it’s so brilliantly written. The words are perfect, and the language is intelligent and very emotional.

TV is sort of the only way to go for an actress my age to make a decent salary; with independent films, you just can’t.

To work on the actual location I think is great. This thing of going to Canada and pretending you’re in New York, it’s terrible.

Families survive, one way or another. You have a tie, a connection that exists long after death, through many lifetimes.

I’ve been thinking a lot about next year, which will be the first time in 25 years that I don’t have a child at home.

For me, nothing has ever taken precedence over being a mother and having a family and a home.

To work with a director that has emotional commitment and passion toward the characters, and the piece, and the experiences, it only enriches your work.

To my mind the election was stolen by George Bush and we have been suffering ever since under this man’s leadership.

I love being a mother. I loved being a daughter, a sister, a wife. I love being a woman with men. I love having given birth.

The only place I’ve felt was really my home is my cabin up north. There’s something in the water there that connects me to that place. There’s also this sense of isolation and loneliness about it that I’ve never been able to shake.

The worst is when I talk myself into something. Sometimes you take things because you want to work with a certain actor, or you want to work with a director, even if the script or the part’s not that great.

It comes down to something really simple: Can I visualize myself playing those scenes? If that happens, then I know that I will probably end up doing it.

One of the things I love about acting is that it reveals a certain something about yourself, but it doesn’t reveal your own personal story.

In families there is always the mythology. My father died when my kids were quite young still, and yet they still tell his stories. That is how a person lives on.

I had never done Shakespeare before, but I don’t think you can be an actor and not do it. There were moments when I thought, I’m just not going to be able to pull this off.

When I am home for like a two-year stretch, I get antsy, because I want to work.

At a certain age, death becomes familiar to you-or a loss becomes familiar-the tragedies that are more commonplace in life.

I am tortured when I am away from my family, from my children. I am horribly guilt-ridden.

To stay interested in acting, I have to keep trying stuff I’ve never done before.

We are not the originators of the story. I think it’s actually the opposite when you’re an actor. You’re telling somebody else’s story.

There was that feminist myth that we can do everything. I don’t think you can.

There are no explanations, there are no answers.

This idea of selfishness as a virtue, as opposed to generosity: That, to me, is unnatural.

I’ve got nothing left to lose at this point. The work I’ve done is out there.

The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness. When you become a mother, you are no longer the center of your own universe. You relinquish that position to your children.

It was easier to do Shakespeare than a lot of modern movie scripts that are so poorly written.

Sometimes parts just come along when it’s the perfect time for you to do them.

Sometimes the odds are against you-the director doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing, or something falls apart in the production, or you’re working with an actor who’s just unbearable.

Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.

I worked on my voice for Sweet Dreams, but only to match my speaking voice to Patsy’s actual singing voice. That was my way into that character.

I never felt like I belonged in Minnesota when I was growing up there. That’s why I was out the door as soon as I turned 18.

I have been a waitress, and I was a damn fine waitress too, let me tell you.

Allow the diversity to exist. There is nothing wrong with it. Hell, we put up with the religious right-we can put up with transgendered human beings.

Because Shakespeare’s language is so expansive, we’re under this misconception that it’s difficult. But I discovered that it’s easy because it’s so brilliantly written. The words are perfect, and the language is intelligent and very emotional.

Successful model? That’s a myth. The year I modeled was the most painful year of my life. Editors would always talk to you in the third person as though you were merely a piece of merchandise.