Laura Linney

Laura: (about her 2007 film "The Nanny Diaries") My character is a complete mess. God only knows how many pills she's popping or what she's drinking. And she doesn't understand why her life isn't turning out the way she thought it would. It was wonderful working with Scarlett Johansson. To be that successful at 21? And she seems like a happy person.

Laura: Really, any sense of spirituality, which I do have, really comes from the arts that are sort of my inspiration.

Laura: I grew up in the theater and went to Juilliard and really expected to be a stage actress, which was fine ... I wanted to be a stage actress. Film was something I was completely intimidated by. I thought that I had some promise as an actress, but I figured I'd never crack that particular nut. So to be where I am ... well, I just love it. I love it.

Laura: When I first came to LA, I had my lovely list of theatre credits. My resume was golden in my mind. I had worked regionally, I'd worked on Broadway. And a casting director looked at my resume and said 'You really haven't done anything, have you?' I was just dumbstruck. The attitude here is that theatre is what you do when you can't get filmwork, and that is just insulting to the marrow of my bones!

Laura: I don't consider myself a celebrity, and I don't consider myself a star.

Laura: (On Jim Carrey) He has tremendous charm. He has an enormous heart, just a big big heart. I think that is the thing. I think if you look at his other work you can see that there, which is what makes his characters more then just mimicry. I think that is why his work has hit so hard. Because there is just more there. So with this one you see more of his humanity.