Alia Shawkat

I've definitely gone through phases where I'm not happy with my life, and you notice in little ways until they start adding up. ”

Empathy is why entertainment is always growing, and for millennials, everyone is judging them and trying to grab their attention by insulting them. We're living in a time where everyone has 25 profiles, and they're having 25 conversations. ”

If we give something value, it becomes valuable. ”

On American TV, there just aren't a lot of female leads in comedy, especially at the peak of all the Judd Apatow stuff. ”

When I'm working, I'm pretty busy with that, but when I'm not, yeah, I like to make music. I sing in jazz bars and stuff, and then I mainly paint every day. It's kind of like a different side of my mind I like to use, and it keeps the other one fresh, and yeah, writing, I've been writing with some friends. ”

With independent film, as an actor, you have more involvement - it's very much more connected. It's not just like I'm showing up and there's another actor on the call sheet; you're very attached to it. ”

When you focus on life, on enjoying and connecting with other people, that's when work comes. When you focus on work, you can never work. I'm always going through waves of that. ”

I don't think it's good to say that you won't do certain things, but I don't necessarily have the natural urge to write. ”

My grandfather talked about James Dean; they were both very much into method acting. ”

After 'Arrested Development,' I didn't know for sure if I wanted to be an actor. I was hitting this wall, where I was the 'ethnic best friend' or the 'sassy teenager.' It felt like the same note, and I didn't feel like I was growing. ”