Personally, I'm a real wimp with scary movies. I get so scared.
The thing I loved about this movie [Waitress] when I read the script was that it was exactly the kind of film that I love to watch. It's not just funny, it's serious, just when you need it to be and true to life in a way.
I was more intrigued by the relationship [in Felicity]; the idea of these two teenagers who were placed together. What would that be like, and what would it be like to watch that unravel. Living together, and having babies with somebody, missing out on your whole childhood, and then spending all these years with someone. I was more intrigued by that.
I'm kind of a scaredy cat - I don't watch a ton of them. I mean, I started reaching this script at night and had to wait until the next morning to finish it so it would be light out. It really scared me. The scary movies I like are The Others and Pan's Labyrinth - they're so scary but they're about real things, and hopefully this is too.
[Adrienne Shelly] explain exactly what she was looking for. This was her movie [Waitress].She also wrote the songs that I sing in it. She wrote everything. She chose the colour of our outfits; she designed the set of the diner. She was very, very involved at every level.
It's definitely a unique situation that we're in. And, yeah, it is difficult not having our ringleader here with us to talk about the film [the Waitress], not having our main person here. People are also asking in relation to the film: what would Adrienne [ Shelly] say about this or that? But I don't know. I don't know what she would say.
Growing up, I would say Wonder Woman and Nancy Drew were definite role models for me. Historically, I know Amelia Earhart stands out for me.
I think the good stories are those where the character decides to break away and do something different.
The kind of hero worship you have, when a parent is lost early and you don't know all their faults and misgivings, is a very strong influence.
Sex has never been something I've done in my career - at all.
I love the complication of the kids in the characters' lives. I love that these two people are very capable in all these ways. They're so trained. They're kind of deadly. They're smart and vicious at times, but I love that they're undone by a teenager, like we all are. We're all incensed and undone by the ungratefulness of a child, and I love that it matters so greatly to them, in a way that it matters to every parent. Teenagers are going to do that no matter where you live or who you are.
You don't get to be the bad mom and still succeed at your job and be tough. It's such a good job because it's so rare. It's a really rare job.
Cheryl [Hines] and I sat through two screenings at the Sundance Film Festival and during the second one, we said to each other: "You know, we don't have to get sad about this. Let's try to enjoy this. Let's just watch it. It's a happy movie [Waitress]."
That's interesting to hear you say that because watching it [the Waitress] for the first time at Sundance was fascinating - it was so different from the experience of making it.
Really, it [the Waitress] was a story about believing in yourself ultimately, and caring enough about yourself to change your life.
I wouldn't say that my experience making it [the Waitress] was necessarily uplifting, but watching it with an audience, I was surprised at how hopeful it was at the end.
I do think it [the Waitress] speaks in a positive way for women and it was surprising for me to see it for the first time as a movie all put together with music. I really liked it a lot.
Freddie [Highmore] is great in the movie [August Rush]. It comes out this Fall and I play a young cellist, a prodigy, who is touring and doing concerts. She's very young and has a one-night fling with an Irish rocker, played Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who is also a really talented musician.
I think I'm probably more passionate about acting now than when I was a kid. When I was young, I didn't know what I was doing.
I think the first time I realized I was actually acting was during Felicity. Before that, I was just going along for the ride.
I don't think, as a 15-year-old, you're that conscious about a lifetime career. I didn't think: "I'm a serious actor." I never studied acting or anything when I was that age.
I would not let my children act when they are young!
I just thought that Adrienne [Shelly] wrote a great character [for Waitress]. It really was all on the page.
Eating a cookie never feels strange. I am a big believer in food in general.
Voiceover work definitely requires it's own specific muscle. And because you're not seeing what you're recording, and all these things are going on, you really have to use your imagination and stay focused and kind of be able to tap your head and rub your belly at the same time.
