Elizabeth Banks

I grew up sort of lower working class. And I just didn't want to have the money struggles that my parents had. You know, I could just - as loving an environment I grew up in - and I grew up in a great home, a very loving home - but, you know, we had that stress. We had that stress in our life. ”

I went to a few really bad commercial auditions because I needed the money, and when you booked a commercial, your life was made: you could eat. ”

Honestly, I am hoping to influence young people, and Twitter's a great way to encourage them to lend their voice to the conversation. Any time you can show young people that you support gay friends and that there are gay people in the world who are lovely, happy, singing, and in love, it opens their minds. ”

I secretly harbor the fantasy of becoming an action star at any moment. I know I'd be great at it. ”

I try not to repeat myself too often, but it's a gamble. 'Fred Claus' had three Oscar winners in it. No business - it was a bad movie. ”

I love physical comedy. I love Oscar Wilde, I love Shakespeare comedies, I love improv. ”

When you live in a leading lady's body, which I do, you have to constantly prove that you are funny. ”

I think comedy has to be very fearless, or it just gets bland. ”

Comedy often comes at the expense of others, and to do that smartly, you don't want to make fun of vulnerable people. You want to make fun of people in power, and so you need to really understand the dynamics of power. ”

Your funny gets developed pretty early on. Comedy requires that you understand as much as possible about the viewpoints of all people and everything that's going on around you. It genuinely requires a true point of view, a real sense of your own view of things in the world. ”