I look back and I look at all the opportunities that I've had to work really hard and really challenge myself, and I like to do things that scare me. I like to do things that I don't know if I'm going to be able to do. I need the help of talented people around me. I love that it's a collaboration.
There's so much I want to do as an actor. I feel like there's so much more that I want to achieve and that I can achieve.
I never know what my next thing is going to be, and I'm not out there specifically searching for one thing in particular. I'm just looking for something that's new and different. It could be a drama or a comedy, I just want to challenge myself and work with people that inspire me.
I don't believe in the death penalty. I believe that there are other people as we speak right now in prison, wrongfully accused, who could serve such a fate. That is injustice at its greatest.
I grew up in a trailer park in Bellingham, Washington.
I haven't tucked a sock in my pants for three years.
When I was a swimmer and I would lose a heat in something I was doing whether it backstroke or breaststroke, were two of my most strongest strokes, I would look at how whoever it was that won and beat me and think, "What did they do? What were... What were the qualities that they had that I can incorporate into my swimming to make me better?"
You're not always going to hit the bull's-eye. I'm going to make movies that work and I'm going to make movies that don't work, and that's just a part of being creative. Because really, I think if you're taking risks and you're pushing yourself and you're doing things that scare you, you are going to fall on your face, and it's not always going to work.
I took 'P.S. I Love You' thinking it was going to be a little funny, and I ended up crying every day on that film.
I think we have a choice every single day in how we want to live our life. You wake up and you make your choice of what you want to do with your day that's going to help you achieve your dream.
I really chase the things that I want.
I'm certainly not very book smart, but I started traveling at 16, and it has enriched me in ways I could never begin to explain.
You're always going to make mistakes. That's life. You just want to grow from them and try to make as few as possible. That's why you do reach out and ask people for help, where needed.
It's give-and-take and back-and-forth, that constantly allows you to grow as an artist and as a human being.
Learning how to fly, for me, was so euphoric.
I had teachers who I could tell didn't want to be there. And I just couldn't get inspired by someone who didn't want to be there.
You have to be precisely in the moment in order to box. And I just love that. I just love the idea of right now we're here, be here.
One of the great things about my job is I get to do all of these things that I may not experience had I not been an actor.
I think writing letters is a lost art, but nowadays it's something that means even more, because it's so easy to communicate in so many different ways. But I find a love letter can even be a little post-it note stuck in your pocket, with a sentence or a few words.
I bring my dogs on set with me, and my little dog Karoo is smart as a whip. She knows where the craft-services food tables are, so anytime I can't find her, I know she has found her way to that area. She's a funny dog.
My most annoying question is "Hilary, are you ever going to play a pretty girl?"
I love my job, I love being an actor and stepping into the shoes of different characters and exploring their lives. It's enriched my life extremely. I've learned more about myself and the ways of life through being an actor.
My relaxation has always been my animals - going to the dog park with them, going to the beach.
The past is gone. I know it sounds cliché, but you're here. Like be in it. And boxing was a really good analogy for me to try and carry that in my everyday life all the time.
The truth is, after Boys Don't Cry, I realized how few and far between the great roles are. I am beyond thankful for finding Million Dollar Baby.
