Jeff Kinney is tall and has a great smile, but don't be fooled, he's as slick as they come. A real player. And how he came up with a book that appeals to kids ages 8-13 baffles me. He's an unbelievably kind man with a great family.

I really wanted to do things that weren't comic. It felt like finding people who can see this other side to me.

I told my agents that I love Holly Hunter and Frances McDormand and all of these women that are good at doing comedies as well as dramas.

I grew up in a suburb of Ohio, in a small town, and I resonated with that small-town feeling where everybody knows your business.

When I moved to New York out of college, that was my goal. To be a stage actress. And to do dramatic works. Like 'Madea', and 'Night, Mother', and 'Sam Shepard', and all that kind of stuff. That's what I really wanted to do.

It's funny, because when I was in college, all my professors said, 'You should do comedy.' And I was like, 'No! No!' But I was able to get my foot in the door through comedy. I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to do it.