Mary Stuart Masterson

I love film sets, but I don't necessarily love being the center of attention.

In this case they're doctors. But having passion for your work and to take risks in order to better human kind. That's a pretty big theme. It's pretty inspiring.

Since I was a child, I've liked telling stories. Maybe because my father's a director, I grew up loving stories. I'm not good at spinning them at a dinner table because I do go on a bit, but I love writing them, and directing is just a way of editing the story.

I feel very privileged that I get to spend my life telling stories that mean something to people.

I learned from Francis Ford Coppola to treat the company like your family.

I don't read reviews, There's no value for me in reading them. Whether they're good or bad, they'll just make me self-conscious.

On the other hand, there are only so many people who really knew how she was exactly, like what did her accent sound like, and the fact that she developed profound deafness when she was first running the Harriet Lane.

Just the actual physical ability to hold four instruments simultaneously and do some of the things that Vivien was able to do is mind blowing to any surgeon. He never went to medical school and he became one of the great teachers of medicine himself, people are just amazed.

What is more important is finding the soul of the character, and making sure it fits well into this story. And that it be dramatic and interesting and captivating, because these people weren't entertainers, you know.

The fact that he didn't get credit for a while is more the story of social injustice. But his own spirit wasn't driven by that, and wasn't dependent upon that. He just wished he had the cash to go to medical school.

I learn a lot from acting, but it's not my natural way. I can't help but write; I do it all the time. It's a condition of being for me.

As a director, I get to have a much broader creative expression than as an actress.