I was an optimistic person, really bossy, gregarious and outspoken.

I'd like to keep exploring comedy. I didn't necessarily think of myself as a comedic actress, but it's a lot of fun.

All the women that are first born daughters in my family are named Mary, but we've all been given nicknames. I don't know how or why that started, but I'm nicknamed after my great-grandmother, who was Mamie. No one ever calls me Mary, except only if my husband is very serious about something.

You do what you can. You have to leave room to grow and make mistakes.

My first day on the set of 'John Adams', I was just supposed to fly to Virginia for a costume fitting. But the director figured, why not shoot it, too? So they threw me into a dress that didn't fit, gave me lines I hadn't seen, in a dialect I didn't know, and two screaming, arching infants.

My favorite charity is the Womens Refugee Commission and the Nomi network.