[reflecting on her career] I have come far, but not far enough. It is still a man`s world.

The truth is, I would do anything for Alan Rudolph. If he asked me to stand on my head and spit wooden nickels, I would. I love him. I loved working with him. I did two movies before with him [ Choose Me (1984) and Songwriter (1984)], and they were some of the highlights of my working life. He`s just an inspired guy and a great person to work with.

I find that there are more interesting roles for women my age in the independent world, which is not to say that there aren`t phenomenal roles in studio films, but 99% of the time they go to Meryl Streep or a very short list of women. Very short. And because they want to work as well as we all do, they take them. So now there`s not a lot left over.

When I went to do Joseph (1995) (TV), it was working with Ben Kingsley that reignited in me my passion for acting. He was so dedicated and so impassioned himself, that it reignited that in me. That was a tremendous blessing.

I`ve been a character actress right from the beginning. I was no more like Cinderella in my real life than I was like the neurotic poet in Cop (1988). Age has nothing to do with being the kind of actress who relies not on magnetic personality, but on disappearing into the person you`re playing instead. For my money, Michelle Pfeiffer`s a character actress - it`s got nothing to do with looks, or age, or whether it`s the leading role.

When I was a young girl, I had really long hair and I went to Jon Peters for the first time. He cut my hair within an inch of its life. I was traumatized!

Trust your own instincts, go inside, follow your heart. Right from the start. go ahead and stand up for what you believe in. As I`ve learned, that`s the path to happiness.

Good work is good work wherever it is.