"The thing I like about acting is being able to lose yourself completely in someone else. I'm not that comfortable when I get recognized."
"I don't really want to do the Hollywood thing. I think you ought to try to say something with your movies."
"I don't care if people like my character. I just want them to think about the movie's message."
"When I feel strongly about something, I'm not so quiet."
"Judging people you don't know for things you don't understand is just really stupid."
"When I was 12, I realized I was very uncomfortable having my parents on set. So I told them that, and they understood."
"It's much simpler to be tortured on camera or to be filmed losing your mind. Whereas a script that has characters who are honest, witty and genuine... is often much harder to act."
"As a girl, you're supposed to love Sleeping Beauty. I mean who wants to love Sleeping Beauty when you can be Aladdin?"
"The Breakfast Club really bothered me. This is, like, an iconic movie, and the coolest character, Ally Sheedy, goes from being this interesting, quirky girl to being made "hot" so she can make out with frickin' Emilio Estevez? Give me a break!"
"I think that films with young female roles are ridden with stereotype. As corny as it sounds, acting is an emotional journey. My heart has to be in it, or else I'm just going to suck."
"I don't think I'm cool because I'm an actor."
"I just respond to stories with a feisty edge to them."
"Acting was not even remotely my goal when I was younger, but the auditioning really turned into something."
"I love to disappear in something and completely lose myself."
"Everybody has a dark side and a light side as well... If you have an honest character, then both sides will come out. So I think that is typically what happens with my roles."
"It can be crazy because you experience things on films which you don't at your age and it can get unnerving sometimes."
"I read the script and was extremely excited. I wasn't used to a screenplay being written for a teenager this way. The character had so much intelligence and passion. That really turned me on."
"I'm a tomboy from Nova Scotia."
"I've been really, really lucky because whole, honest roles for young women don't often exist. But now people are like, 'Whoa, you're such a feminist! You play such young, strong women.' It's like, if I were a guy, you wouldn't be saying that to me. If I was a guy you wouldn't be saying, 'Wow, you play such strong young male roles. The question wouldn't exist."
On her height
"I'm a total shrimp, which makes me look younger. I'll be able to stay in that area longer, which is good, because there's more competition in your 20s."
"It's all about Ellen. She's gorgeous!"
"What I like about the film [Juno] is that it tackles an issue that we often treat as this really heavy, dark event and we look at it with a different perspective. She's extremely independent. She finds adoptive parents before she even tells her parents. I just think it's nice to not dwell in darkness."
Allison Janney on working with Ellen
Ellen is remarkable. She looks like she's 10 years old, but she's wise beyond her years, she's incredibly self-possessed, like Juno.
She didn't seem to get too worked up about things, she just did her work and wasn't as neurotic as a lot of young actors are. She'd be uncomfortable with all the hoopla around the movie. For her it's all about the work. I liked her a lot, she's really cool.