It Really Hit Home That My Parents

I Was A Very Determined Kid. I Couldn't Imagine Any Other Life For Myself. This Happens To Kids Who Are Different In Any Way. How Am I Going To Make A Life? Who Am I Going To Be When I Grow Up? Will There Be A Place For Me In The World? Acting Gave Me A Sense Of Purpose, But It Also Gave Me A Sense That I Would Survive, That I Would Find My Place.

Everybody Either Wanted To Take Care Of Me Or Push Me Around, You Know? I Was Teased A Lot, Sure I Was, Of Course. Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade, Sixth Grade, Everybody Was Taking Their Spurts Except Me. I Was Not Growing Up.

For Me To Want To Be An Actor Was An Improbable Idea. I Wasn't Beautiful Or Pretty In Any Conventional Way. I Wasn't An Ingenue At 22. But I Was Always Certain Of It And Certain Of Its Power. I Felt The Power When I Went To The Theater At 9, 10, 12 And 14.

For A While, I Thought, Maybe I Should Direct, Until I Got To New York And Saw The Stupidity Of That Idea. If It's Hard To Get Into Acting, What Is It Like For A Woman To Become A Director?

I Think People Have Always Liked In Me The Combination Of Being The Underdog Because I'm A Tiny Woman But I Have Enormous Authority In Myself.