I auditioned for the role of an angel in the Nativity play at school. I didn't get it. I auditioned for Mary; didn't get it. So I made up the character of the sheep who sat next to Baby Jesus.

have to play a 22-year-old, and she's nearly 40. ... They said, 'How about Hilary Swank?' I said, 'Great, fine, whoever.' I would have said, 'Great, fine, whoever,' if they had said Roseanne Barr. I stopped paying attention because I'm focusing on my future, not my past.

I thought I was doing a small play in an experimental theater, and I couldn't believe the reaction it got, ... I was so nervous the opening night, and then, once the play started, I thought, 'Just go for it.'

My first role was in a Nativity play. My mom was playing Mary, and I was crying backstage, so she brought me out as Baby Jesus.

Yippee! I can't believe I made it. It feels like a long haul to get here. I'm so fine with it. People want you to have some sort of breakdown, but I'm relieved to be 40 years old, and I've lived a life.

I think each role takes a little from you and circles around you for the rest of your life. I don't think you ever abandon any of them.