I always had the chance to do whatever I wanted to do, my parents were very open about that. Acting has been a passion of mine. I wanted to be in musicals as a kid, and took tap dance, so for me it`s a dream come true, my childhood was filled with things that I loved to do, and also very normal things: I lived in New York, I have a family life and went to a regular school. If anything, I look back and think, `Wow, I did a lot of things that a lot of people don`t get to do in their lifetime`.

I am very independent. I can look after myself but I still need a lot of love and care.

It`s a great thing to get older and learn. I don`t feel bound in any way by how many years I`ve lived. I identify just as much with my 86-year-old grandmother as I do with my sister.

Whose life would I like to step into for the day? The president`s. I could probably get some things done in the Oval Office.

I think that I sort of see other actresses are kind of proud of the way they look and show it off. That`s never really been my style. I really don`t think that it`s disgusting or wrong, if you`re 18 you`re 18, it`s your body, it`s your right to show yourself, however, I don`t really take a part in that. I like to look nice, but I think that there`s ways of doing it that are more tasteful than just wearing a bikini wherever you go.

I don`t think human beings are monogamous by nature. It`s difficult - you have to put a lot of effort into a relationship. I think it`s hard for actors to date each other because they are so damn moody. You are away from people constantly and having a relationship that is strictly by phone, it is miserable. Or if you say to him/her, `Hey, (even though) I am doing a very sexy scene with this very sexy girl/boy, I love you and I`m going to be thinking of you when I am rolling around in bed with this person!`

I have a lot of actor friends who worked with their parents closely and have had really horrible experiences. They end up suing or being emancipated. The wonderful thing about my mom [who is also her manager] is that she completely respects my creative weirdness and supports any decision I make.

Tons of that stuff comes to me, but a lot of it is awful. All these teenage slaying movies, and movies about girls that have deformities that become cheerleaders and then marry the prom king!

I`m so tired of hearing casting directors ask if I have a sore throat. The people who have told me that my voice is distinctive, it`s unusual...those people have always been close to my heart.

We are supposed to be liberated in America but if our President had his way, we wouldn`t be educated about sex at all. Every woman would have six children and we wouldn`t be able to have abortions.

It`s a place of solace. I love London, it`s an amazing city. I`ve met some wonderful people there and I also have some family there. I`m from New York, so I feel very at home in London. It`s like a metropolitan breeding ground for culture, art, music and diversity. It`s a beautiful city, with beautiful history. In Hollywood, it`s hard to step outside of the circle once you`re in it. But in London I was really moved by how accepted I felt there. There was definitely less need to wear my big sunglasses!

Well, you put a little piece of yourself into every character that you do. Even if you`re playing some psychotic person, which of course I`m not, some part of you is in that character and it`s hopefully believable. I always come back to the fact that my own instinct is better than something I build in my mind.

The most precious moment in life is when you`re about to fall in love. You`re lying in bed together and he`s gazing at you and you`re gazing at him and there`s a sense that something truly wondrous is about to happen. It`s a nervous moment - but it`s exhilarating.

I always check in the mirror to make sure nothing is see-through.

I hope they make a video game of me. At least I wouldn`t have any cellulite then.

On David Hasselhoff, after they had both worked on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004): "I so fancied him when I was young, that to see my name on the credits next to his makes me go all girly. He was a hunk back in those days."

I don`t talk about my personal relationships, it always ends up kicking you in the face. But I`ve read a lot of things about myself and think, `Wow! That girl sounds really saucy.`

I just adored working with Woody. He was more than I could have ever dreamed of. I`d do it a million times over.

[About getting to entertain US troops in the Persian Gulf in 2008] This USO tour to the Gulf region truly means a lot. I`ve wanted to go over and visit for some time, and now my moment has arrived. It`s one thing to reply to a letter or extend your thanks to service members in a speech, but it`s another thing to visit them and spend time with those that do so much for us back home.

I don`t think there`s any kind of preparation for sudden celebrity. I think you almost have this slight nervous breakdown when that kind of media attention happens. I mean, you`re doing the same kind of thing that you do all the time, only you have to make these weird adjustments. Like, you`re buying a slice of pizza and somebody`s outside photographing you which is weird - that`s not normal! It`s very uncomfortable.

Everyone in Hollywood is so damn skinny and you constantly feel like you`re not skinny enough. But I have `fat days` and I accept that I`m never going to be rail thin. It`s hard not to feel pressure in this industry and I already use anti-aging products on my skin. I try not to let the pressure get to me but Los Angeles is a very hard place to be unless you have people here that love you. It can be very, very lonely, and it can eat you up if you don`t take care of yourself.

It would be hellish to have the pressure of putting on a Hollywood ending or putting in a scene where Vermeer sees Griet washing her breasts - commenting on why she was glad that Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) was a small foreign production.

I`m curvy - I`m never going to be 5` 11` and 120 pounds. But I feel lucky to have what I`ve got.

One of the best things for a woman to hear is that she is sexy.

Do I ever get nervous about this, right now, being the pinnacle of my career? Yeah, I do. At the end of (filming) every movie I think, `Wow - this is the last one! Nice working with you.`

As long as people keep buying tabloids, they`ll keep harassing people in the public eye. They`ll make up stories.

I was driving through Los Angeles and I look up and see the biggest photo of me I have ever seen in my life on a massive ad space. I screamed and slammed on the brakes. I couldn`t believe it. It`s very strange to see my cleavage the size of a brontosaurus. My breasts were huge. I had long hair and my goodness, I couldn`t get past the cleavage.

It`s a required part of your film history to know who Woody is. His movies are so wonderful, and not just funny but so insightful about human behavior.

LA`s a very hard place to be unless you have people there that love you. It can be very, very lonely, and it can eat you up if you don`t take care of yourself. In LA, nobody wants to talk to each other, everybody`s giving each other catty looks.

What I respect most in people is naturalness and authenticity. I like to be able to see into their soul. I aspire to being a truthful person.

I definitely believe in plastic surgery. I don`t want to be an old hag. There`s no fun in that.

[On Woody Allen] I just adore Woody. We have a lot in common. We`re New Yorkers, Jewish. We have a very easygoing relationship.

I came home and I thought I was going to die. I was in agony. I had muscles that had atrophied. I couldn`t run any longer and it was only the first day. But, actually, Ewan was in the same boat. He had black and blue marks all over him. So, it wasn`t so bad since someone else was in agony. [On filming The Island (2005)]

People forget what it`s like to be a child. When you`re a child actress, people sometimes regress into being obnoxious and patronizing. But there`s no reason to dumb things down just because you`re working with kids.

I don`t know if I`ve got swept up. It`s so shocking when you hear that Calvin Klein wants you for their new campaign. You`re like, `who me?`. I guess you have to decide where you draw the line between you saying, this is fun, pretty and fabulous, and being over-exposed.

I have an obsessive character. I manicure my nails at three in the morning because nobody else can do it the right way. Maybe that`s the secret to my success.

I don`t go to McDonald`s anymore. After I saw Super Size Me... no way!