There was always pressure to make a Scientologist out of the people you were working with.
There's a lot of things that are good in Scientology, because I wouldn't have been in it. And that's the thing: a lot of people trivialize this thing, like, 'Oh, it's Xenu, and it's a volcano, and it's jumping on couches and acting crazy.' These people are victims. We've been victimized. We believed in something because it starts out very normal.
Scientologists view children as spiritual beings.
Nicole Kidman was an inspiration to me at the time I left the church. Knowing that she went on to have a successful and happy life, both personally and professionally, helped to give me confidence.
Because Scientologists view children as spiritual beings, you're not treated as a kid, so you're given a lot of responsibility. Your ego becomes extremely inflated.
I always was trying to make people laugh as a kid. I was a big fan of Carol Burnett and Gilda Radner. I watched them and I remember feeling as a child, when I heard the laughter they got, a little jealous that they made someone laugh like that.
