There's only so many times you can read how ugly you are and how much people hate you.
There's only so many times you can read how ugly you are and how much people hate you.
It's scary to sign a six-year contract for something that you don't necessarily know about. And yet ...
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It's scary to sign a six-year contract for something that you don't necessarily know about. And yet I did that most every year. I've done a lot of failed pilots.
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Had Bridesmaids (2011) not ended up being so amazing and successful, we would never have been able t...
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Had Bridesmaids (2011) not ended up being so amazing and successful, we would never have been able to make Bachelorette (2012). So we are in awe of Bridesmaids (2011) and totally owe them so much.
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I'm choosy to a fault. You want to hold out for a project that means something. You're the one who's...
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I'm choosy to a fault. You want to hold out for a project that means something. You're the one who's there working fifteen hours a day, and if you don't believe in it, it can feel a whole lot longer.
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I try to find some similarities between myself and the characters, even if it's the tiniest thing.
I try to find some similarities between myself and the characters, even if it's the tiniest thing.
I think there's something very lovely and hilarious about exploring the particular neuroses of the f...
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I think there's something very lovely and hilarious about exploring the particular neuroses of the female mind. It's just not the same thing with men. I mean, there are exceptions, but for the most part, women beat themselves up in their heads more. They overanalyze stuff far more than men do.
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I find that working with friends is always the goal, even if it's just one person. Because the comed...
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I find that working with friends is always the goal, even if it's just one person. Because the comedy community is kind of insular, it's easy to run into people you've worked with, even if you worked with someone on something for a day, or whatever.
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Whenever you're starting a new show, you have these awkward first lunches and meetings that are sort...
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Whenever you're starting a new show, you have these awkward first lunches and meetings that are sort of mandatory, and everybody shows up, but nobody knows each other.
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I think being mean to people in high school is healthy. It's sort of like you're in this situation w...
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I think being mean to people in high school is healthy. It's sort of like you're in this situation with all these other kids and sometimes you need to get your aggression out. And if you'd had people be mean to you before, it really does build character.
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The family you were raised in, the time period you were born in, and the part of the country you're ...
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The family you were raised in, the time period you were born in, and the part of the country you're in absolutely shape your view on sex, which shapes a huge part of anybody's personality.
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[when asked who she wants to work with] Hands down, the Streep, obviously.
[when asked who she wants to work with] Hands down, the Streep, obviously.
My first acting role as a kid was on Freaks and Geeks (1999).
My first acting role as a kid was on Freaks and Geeks (1999).
I have a special ability to spot TV shows that don't go past two seasons; that's my gift.
I have a special ability to spot TV shows that don't go past two seasons; that's my gift.
None of my friends are in the entertainment industry.
None of my friends are in the entertainment industry.
I think I get way too much credit for making what people consider to be smart choices, but it's only...
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I think I get way too much credit for making what people consider to be smart choices, but it's only because I made a decision to stop worrying about making money. I had done network sitcoms. I had a nest egg.
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I really like doing television shows, and I anticipated doing a comedy, because that's the place I f...
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I really like doing television shows, and I anticipated doing a comedy, because that's the place I feel the most comfortable - those are the risks I want to take.
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Don't peak in high school.
Don't peak in high school.
I don't think you should be allowed to eat in a restaurant if you haven't waited tables at least onc...
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I don't think you should be allowed to eat in a restaurant if you haven't waited tables at least once. It's so irritating when I see people being rude to waiters, like, it makes me want to slit their throats! Like, really? You're really this inconsiderate?
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I think, as an actress, people get on your case if you do the same thing over and over again. But if...
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I think, as an actress, people get on your case if you do the same thing over and over again. But if you get too far away from that, people don't like that, either.
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I really unfortunately don't have tons of hilarious Sundance stories, because really I am not the bi...
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I really unfortunately don't have tons of hilarious Sundance stories, because really I am not the biggest fan of hanging out, but the reason why is because I never go see other people's movies and I think that's the way to do it.
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When I was younger, I actually wanted to be a CIA agent. Really. I even did the online questionnaire...
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When I was younger, I actually wanted to be a CIA agent. Really. I even did the online questionnaire.
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I was a Russian dancer in my elementary school production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' when I was in thi...
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I was a Russian dancer in my elementary school production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' when I was in third grade or fourth grade. I was one of the younger kids accepted into the play, and the plays were pretty impressive, let me say.
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Comedy is not something that a person can fake or learn how to do.
Comedy is not something that a person can fake or learn how to do.
I think it's necessary to identify with anything - with any character you play, there's got to be so...
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I think it's necessary to identify with anything - with any character you play, there's got to be something in common, so you can link up to that person, even if it's like one tiny thing. But it's equally fun to play somebody completely different, and trying to find what that thing is to make it.
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(About the role of Marjee Sorelli on WB's Related (2005)) She's just fun. I almost never get to play...
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(About the role of Marjee Sorelli on WB's Related (2005)) She's just fun. I almost never get to play the one who has the good clothes and lots of boyfriends and is crazy and wild.
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For the past few years, I've been more selective than I have any right to be, but I think that's fin...
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For the past few years, I've been more selective than I have any right to be, but I think that's finally starting to work in my favor. I think I get way too much credit for making what people consider to be smart choices, but it's only because I made a decision to stop worrying about making money.
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I find reality television to be so delectable.
I find reality television to be so delectable.
On Masters of Sex (2013) especially in the pilot, everybody was showing up word-perfect, and you're ...
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On Masters of Sex (2013) especially in the pilot, everybody was showing up word-perfect, and you're expected to show up word-perfect.
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I had a bat mitzvah, was confirmed, went to Jewish summer camp, I go to temple for the High Holy Day...
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I had a bat mitzvah, was confirmed, went to Jewish summer camp, I go to temple for the High Holy Days. I think, like most people in their early 20s, I kind of strayed away from it. I think once I have a family I'll be back into it.
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I try to bring elements of my own personality to every character I've played, but I think I'm pretty...
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I try to bring elements of my own personality to every character I've played, but I think I'm pretty similar to the character I'm playing now. The biggest departure would have to have been Freaks and Geeks Sara, who was this sort of subordinate and shy girl.
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'Party Down' is the most fun I've ever had working in my life. We shoot 10-episode seasons and we sh...
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'Party Down' is the most fun I've ever had working in my life. We shoot 10-episode seasons and we shoot it in 10 weeks, so it's very brief: 4-day episode shoots. You never get sick of anybody, and it never feels like a drag. It's way, way, way too short.
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When you're shooting a network television show it inevitably starts airing a few episodes in, and de...
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When you're shooting a network television show it inevitably starts airing a few episodes in, and depending on the ratings and the response from the public, you find yourself tweaking your performance or the scripts go in a different direction.
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It's weird, It's really weird to be called a breakout star. And some people are referring to my show...
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It's weird, It's really weird to be called a breakout star. And some people are referring to my show as the new Friends (1994), which I can't really even wrap my head around.
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I do think, oddly, that a comedic actor has a better chance of pulling off a dramatic role than a gr...
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I do think, oddly, that a comedic actor has a better chance of pulling off a dramatic role than a great dramatic actor has of being able to pull off a highly comedic role.
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I saw Clueless (1995) five times in the theatre when I was growing up.
I saw Clueless (1995) five times in the theatre when I was growing up.
As an actress - and as an actor, too, but it's worse for actresses - you constantly get picked apart...
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As an actress - and as an actor, too, but it's worse for actresses - you constantly get picked apart for how you look.
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I really fancied myself a comedic actress.
I really fancied myself a comedic actress.
Save the Date (2012) feels like a quiet story about two sisters and the men in their lives, kind of ...
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Save the Date (2012) feels like a quiet story about two sisters and the men in their lives, kind of reminiscent of the quieter rom-coms of the 1990s; it's very character-driven and not as wedding-focused.
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There are some of us who are just born with a more adventurous spirit than others.
There are some of us who are just born with a more adventurous spirit than others.
I did the whole non-dairy thing for a year.
I did the whole non-dairy thing for a year.
I'm still waiting to hit it big. But there was the moment when I didn't have to work at the restaura...
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I'm still waiting to hit it big. But there was the moment when I didn't have to work at the restaurant anymore, which is the milestone for every actor. When your job is just to be an actor and not to have to do anything else.
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I have no drawing talent whatsoever. I cannot do it.
I have no drawing talent whatsoever. I cannot do it.
I've loved being the sarcastic chick, but I didn't want to be her forever.
I've loved being the sarcastic chick, but I didn't want to be her forever.
In the early days, I just got lucky. I would audition for everything and just happen to land in some...
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In the early days, I just got lucky. I would audition for everything and just happen to land in something pretty respectable, like Freaks and Geeks (1999) my first job, which was a complete fluke.
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I had to do a lot of dancing in Queens of Country (2012).
I had to do a lot of dancing in Queens of Country (2012).
I'm really awkward when people recognize me. I'm not good at it, and for the most part it hadn't hap...
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I'm really awkward when people recognize me. I'm not good at it, and for the most part it hadn't happened to me until True Blood (2008), and then, all of a sudden, it started happening all the time.
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There's definitely a luxury to the fluidity of not being a mega-star. I've done a ton of really, rea...
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There's definitely a luxury to the fluidity of not being a mega-star. I've done a ton of really, really odd, off-the-wall movies. There's this movie I did called Queens of Country (2012) a couple of summers ago that is so bananas, and if I was at a certain level, I probably would not have done that movie.
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Everybody hangs out with everybody, which is very strange for a cast this large and this young. We'r...
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Everybody hangs out with everybody, which is very strange for a cast this large and this young. We're all cool and down to earth and not caught up in this maniacal business at all... . Everybody really, really likes everybody else.
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(About the different characters that she has played and how they are like her actual self) I try to ...
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(About the different characters that she has played and how they are like her actual self) I try to bring elements of my own personality to every character I've played, but I think I'm pretty similar to the character I'm playing now (on the series The Class (2006)). The biggest departure would have to have been Freaks and Geeks (1999) Sara, who was this sort of subordinate and shy girl.
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Everyone who made Save the Date (2012) like the writers and the director, they're all happily marrie...
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Everyone who made Save the Date (2012) like the writers and the director, they're all happily married and not anti-marriage at all, so that was kind of interesting to me.
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I find that break-ups are so much easier when you can hate the person.
I find that break-ups are so much easier when you can hate the person.
You'd be surprised. Girls like sensitive, namby-pamby guys.
You'd be surprised. Girls like sensitive, namby-pamby guys.
I never get recognized for Mean Girls (2004) I can be walking around with Daniel Franzese, who's in ...
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I never get recognized for Mean Girls (2004) I can be walking around with Daniel Franzese, who's in the movie and a friend of mine, and people will come up to him and start freaking out and have no idea who I am.
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