From my earliest days as an actress, I had always been drawn to learning the director's job.

When you're a director, the job itself forces you to take charge.

I'm not going to deny that knowing someone in high places can sometimes get the job done. That's the name of the game. A son or daughter of someone famous will get a break. But once they're in there, they're on their own.

Working on location is ideal because you enter the character and the story. Shooting at a studio near home, there's a certain split. But on location, you forget the real world, and when you come back to reality, just going to the market can be traumatic.