I do believe there`s good in all of us, even if it`s layered over so thickly.

When it`s working, what acting is really about is getting into the essence of a moment in a creative, joyous way - through whatever frees you up.

Cannes is a very strange place. I tried to show up as best I could and to try not to be cynical.

As a woman, a lot of stories haven`t been told and we`ve got a lot of catching up to do.

I guess the characters I play may be at the more destructive edge of the spectrum, more damaged or whatever, but I find a lot of female roles uninteresting. I would rather play someone who`s fucked-up and deep than someone who`s one-dimensional and invisible. I would rather drive something and be crazy than be forgotten and nothing.

There`s been a slow death in a way. On the positive side, there are films getting into the Academy Awards that wouldn`t have, but on the negative side, financiers are now dominant and making all the decisions. I can`t count the ways a director`s vision is compromised.

It`s been very important for me to follow my gut or my heart, or whichever organ you want to go by.

If someone puts up $100 million on a movie, they`re gonna be concerned about whether they`ll get it back. So they`re not gonna make a movie about three girls, you know?

The weird thing about this business - and I`m sure this operates in many other things, but it`s very present and acute in this business - is that a lot of people don`t realize that they have power. Particularly actors.

I like to play smart, three-dimensional women. I also like to play roles where the women are a little crazy. I just have a feel for crazy people.

After I`m finished playing a part, it`s almost like a ritual kind of thing. I`ve brought them to life, they`ve had their time. And now it`s time for them to go back in...in whatever way they do. Then I go on with my life.

I see my job as an actor to be as good a channel as I can be. Acting is a gift, and I have respect for it.

Being in an ensemble is a good experience, but I don`t feel like I need any more of those experiences. I love the principle, but I also feel like I want to take up more space. It`s hard because it can, when you`re not there every day or in every scene, be tricky to anchor down a character.

I tried to do the commercial thing. But I don`t want to keep shoving Twinkies down everyone`s throat. People are hungry for something of more substance.