I think of myself more as a character actor than that ingenue leading lady, who started out something like Michelle Pfeiffer, or Jessica Lange. I'm a bit quirkier than that.
When I was 20 years old and first with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, we had an 88-seat theater in a basement and no money.
It's such a great feeling to make people laugh. I know I've made people cry or want to slit their wrists, but to make people laugh is a very intoxicating, wonderful thing.
My favorite thing is to hang out at my house, be on my beautiful property, prune bushes, take a long walk, build a fire, and read.
I think there's been a tendency to place me in what has been characterised as the 'moral centre' of the film. In films like 'The Ice Storm' and 'The Crucible' and 'Nixon,' that's the sort of the persona that emerged.
