Maura Tierney

What appealed to me was that the focus of 'North Atlantic' was more about performance rather than emoting, because I was at a point in life where it was nice not to have to emote all over the place.

I say I'm not a control freak and I don't like to be in charge. But on the other hand, I really don't like anyone telling me what to do. I have some authority issues.

I did a lot of sitcoms, and being funny isn't about being beautiful. Usually, beautiful people aren't the funny people.

Even in comedy, I'm always the straight guy, which is okay because that's a skill. But it would be nice to get out of that box.

I wish I had a little more joy of cooking - because mostly I have anxiety of cooking. I'm so proud when things come out well.

Everyone in my family has seen me cry before.

I felt intimidated the entire time I was in school by my teachers and classmates. But I just knew acting was something I wanted to do.

I always acted in high school. Actually, I started in preschool. I was in a play about Jesus. I went to a Catholic school and played an angel and recited some poem about Jesus. It felt so long to me at the time.

I've been doing dramas for a long time.

My dad was a theatrical guy. He wore a scuba suit one time because he said so-and-so was in the tank with the mayor. He didn't really care what people thought, so he was able to put himself out there. He didn't have a lot of shame, in a good way.

I tend to focus on what I'm doing at the moment, and that takes up the entire span of my focus.

You can't just take care of everybody else all the time.