When I step back from any moment of crisis that I've ever had, I'm always struck by how humor and tragedy can kind of live in the same moment, holding hands together. How life can go from the ridiculous to the sublime to the tragic all in one breath.

My parents are actually very hip. They're way hipper than me.

Seeing a movie you're in is nothing like seeing a movie you're not in.

Sometimes it's nice to think, Oh, I can only do this one thing. Instead of feeling like, I could theoretically, maybe, if I applied myself, could be successful in a number of different fields. That can be overwhelming. Sometimes it's nice to have this myopic vision for your life and that's the only thing you can imagine yourself doing.

I was born in the West Village in New York, and then when I was about four my family moved to what they joke is the suburbs, the Upper West Side. I lived there for most of my childhood.

I did my friend's film - this guy Harrison Atkins who's a great filmmaker. He just makes movies with all his friends, and I think that's all what we're striving for - to feel like we're among friends and people who care about each other. I'd like to think that good work comes from that - from a sort of loving and friendly environment.

If you feel like you're working with good people, you give them your humanity and just let it happen.

I took ballet for two years in high school and then in college on and off, and I went back into class. I'm nowhere near good enough to be a professional, but it's great to be in that environment. The discipline is so impressive.

You would almost think it would be the opposite, but making a film sort of made me freer in my acting.