Noel Wells

Growing up, I felt like it was very dangerous to mess up in any way, both in front of men and in front of other girls. It was like you couldn't make mistakes. So having a female friend who's like, 'Get over yourself. You're driving me crazy!' - that's been one of my most important parts of becoming an adult.

Getting on 'SNL' wasn't just about getting cast. I had written all this stuff in my audition, and I wrote several things that got on the air. But to me, I've never been interested in being picked. So when I do get sent things, most of the time I do pass on them because it doesn't feel like it would be fulfilling.

The movies and comedy that I love the most, even if there are men starring in them, often the men wrote the parts for themselves.

I think when you are trying to be intimate with people that are so incredibly self-obsessed, it's not going to work. It's not going to be romantic, and it's probably going to be one-sided.

'S.N.L.' has become what it was always trying to make fun of. It's become this big machine. I don't want to be plugged into a machine.

'S.N.L.' is the comedy establishment. Of course you want to go through that, because you want that stamp of approval. But it has its own identity, and our voices didn't mesh for whatever reason - or they decided we didn't belong.

I just think that we're all humans; we all mess up. It's okay: we should give people room to learn from their mistakes. That's how evolution happens.

I think art maybe has just become very consumer-oriented, and maybe it's always been that way because it is a business.

I don't necessarily want to be famous.

I went to film school at UT Austin.

I feel like I can do any kind of acting. It's hard to convince other people of that. I feel very confident that most any role, I would be able to do it. I don't have a lot of insecurities around acting.

As a creative person, you have to keep going. There's no defined career path. There's no security.

Comedy is just honesty. Whether things are going well or bad.

I've had this problem my whole life where I feel like I'm laughing all the time, and I feel like I understand what makes me laugh. But other people don't see it. It's very confusing.

I like to be good. I like being good at things. I wish that was valued instead of me being 'better' than another woman who also writes things and makes movies.

I want to collaborate with people and be a part of a creative community.

I see so many women thinking other women are their enemies - especially when they don't have a job or a guy or whatever. It's like, 'I don't have what I want, and she does, so she must be my enemy.' I find it confusing and not fair and sad.

I feel like if I had a spirit animal, it would be Holly Hunter.

I auditioned for 'S.N.L.' two years before I got on the show. And I remember the first time thinking, 'I know for sure I'm not going to get this.' But I had this feeling that I would be back.

I'm a progressive person, very liberal. I have this thing in my head where I'm going to change the world, but with comedy.

Nobody gets into comedy because they feel like they're cool and funny. If they do, they're megalomaniacs.

Men think of women as people who just augment their experience. Women's value isn't a given. But getting to know some incredible women, and even learning to value myself, it's a shame that we aren't celebrated, loved, and cherished as a default. A lot of stupid dudes are really missing out on a much more interesting experience of life.

There is so much incredible talent in Hollywood, and it's crazy to me that we see the same people over and over again in projects.

I remember, when I was a little kid playing with the 25 Legos I had, I thought, 'If I just had a camera, I could film different setups and make it look like I have way more Legos and tell a story.' I didn't get a camera, though, until I basically got an iPhone.

I've always wanted to be a director; it's just how my mind has always worked. If I hear music, I see music videos and all the shots and setups to edit it all together. If I interact with a person, I'm seeing a whole scene come to life.