I would go through phases of wanting to be a mermaid or a vet, but because I grew up around people who were always making movies, I guess it sort of just moulded my mind.

I grew up around really not-normal people. My family is general Hollywood. They're all artists; they're creative people who are advocates for expressing themselves. But I also have to say I'm not impressed with Hollywood.

I'm from Ohio, and I wasn't one of those kids who grew up making movies or whatever, but I always wanted to write. I was probably in high school when I realized the things I was writing weren't books; they were movies, they were visual.

Gena Rowlands is my all-time love. Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer. I grew up watching their work; they are extraordinary.

Playing big, heroic characters with heart is always a lot of fun. I enjoy making movies like that, and a lot of people love to live vicariously through those characters.

I think I spent my entire childhood on film sets, surrounded by film-makers and actors and people with magnetic energies who make movies.