Personality is the most important thing to an actress's success.

I like every single actor or actress in the world because we never know what the conditions are like when they are working. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt and root for them like a psychotic sports fan.

When I got out of acting school I was lucky to have gotten any job at all. A lot of people hiring African American actresses - it was right after 'Roots ' and for society not me it was great. Nice richly dark-skinned people was the fashion and I was not.

Even actresses that you really admire like Reese Witherspoon you think 'Another romantic comedy?' You see her in something like 'Walk the Line' and think 'God you're so great!' And then you think 'Why is she doing these stupid romantic comedies?' But of course it's for money and status.

I think as a young actress it's very rare that you read something where you're not either 'the girl' or there to serve some romantic purpose in a male dominated cast.

Lately I did a film called All I Want for Christmas and it was well received. This gave me a new point of view and a new respect for my work as an actress.

I wanted to be an actress. In college I was a serious feminist and very political. I was determined to get one thing out of my career and that was respect. I didn't want money. I didn't care about fame.

I think Europeans have enough tradition and respect for the experience and body of work of an actress that they don't sell out to the new ones.

I do think that at one time being an actress was the equivalent almost of being a prostitute. It garnered roughly the same respect. That's changed a lot thank goodness.

In England with all due respect we have some of the plainest actresses in the entire world as our greatest.