Mandy Moore

Mandy: (On the toughest thing she's ever had to deal with) Growing up in the public eye was really tough. When you're 14 and your body is changing, your life is changing, and people are watching every step you make, it's really hard to deal with. But I was pretty lucky, people didn't watch me that closely. But for someone like Britney Spears, who did have her whole life scrutinized, it must have been terrible.

Mandy: (On waiting for the right acting role) It has to be right. I've had the opportunity to play the drug dealer who gets gang-raped, and I'm like, "For what reason? Doing it just to do it? To just show people that I can be sexy or dark?" I don't want to do something just to make that point. It needs to happen organically, and I'm really confident it will. I'm a pretty patient person, and I'll wait until we find the right stuff.

Mandy: (talking about her "Wild Hope" album) It's somewhat of a foreign concept for me to care so much about a record, I really haven't had the personal involvement on anything in the past, not like I do with this one.

Mandy: As an actor, you have substantial control with the films you take on: If you never want to do an action movie, you don't have to. If you don't want to do nudity, you don't have to. It's case-by-case, project-by-project. For me all this went hand-in-hand with my music. I can't go off and do a movie with Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow, Billy Crudup or Tom Wilkinson and then come back to a record where I, as a creative matter, am absent.

Mandy: I'm a bit of a germ freak. I carry antibacterial and alcohol swabs with me when I travel. I don't think it's a weird germophobia thing, but when you are shaking people's hands, meeting lots of different people all the time, I don't want to get sick. It's as simple as that.

Mandy: I've probably been drunk, maybe, four times in my entire life. Honestly. I guess I'm a bit of a lightweight. I have a better time enjoying one glass of wine and just being relaxed. It's a bit of a control thing - I don't like not being in control of my words. I like to go to bed at 10pm, or 10.30pm, because I like to wake up at 7am. Maybe for some people drinking and drugs work for them, but I'm not a tortured artist. I wouldn't turn to some sort of substance to make me feel better, I'd turn to writing.

Mandy: What I look for in a guy is a really good sense of humour, obviously honesty and he had to be into music. Not necessarily a musician, but someone who has a deep passion and appreciation for music. Because music is such a huge part in my heart, nothing makes me happier than being able to share that with someone.

Mandy: (about her current body, and the pressure in Hollywood to be thin) I felt pressured once in a movie, but there's no way to escape it, whether you're in the spotlight or not. Sometimes I don't feel so great about myself, but I think that's pretty natural for most women. I like representing this, rather than the other extreme. I feel like the other extreme is represented enough. I'm totally happy where I am.

Mandy: I'm not Nicole Richie. I'm not like a toothpick, and I never will be. I'm just a regular looking person and that's okay. It's taken awhile to come to grips with that since it's definitely not the norm in my business. But like, who cares? If anything, that makes someone more special. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

Mandy: (in January 2007) A few months ago I felt really low, really sad. Depressed for no reason. I'm a very positive person, and I've always been glass-half-full. So it was like someone flipped a switch in me. The break-up (with Scrubs star Zach Braff) added to what I was going through, but it's not the complete reason. It definitely doesn't help if you're already in that place.

Mandy: (On the directors she'd like to work with) Alexander Payne is really amazing and I love all of his films. I think it would be fun to work with him. Wes Anderson as well. There are a lot of people out there that I would flip out to work with.

Mandy: I don't feel like I have constant media attention. It feels like a grey area to me because, and I know Chris agrees with this, I love what I get to do and I feel really lucky because I know how competitive it is out there and I feel lucky that I keep getting opportunities to work with really brilliant people, actors or filmmakers, etc. But it's about the work and I try not to be outside of myself too much. I think it can help you if you are aware of that kind of side of "celebrity" and fame, but I try not to think about it at all too much, it's such a weird concept being kept in a box and isolated and separated from everybody else. It's so weird.

Mandy: When people come up to me and say, 'You made it,' I think, 'But I'm not done yet. Not everyone's heard my music.' I want to be a household name.

Mandy: I'm not an advocate for having sex or not having sex. It's a personal decision. Whenever you feel ready, you're ready.

Mandy: I'm a spiritual person and a religious person. But for me, it's all a personal thing. I'm not someone who'll say, 'This is what I believe, and you should too!' It's more of an internal, quiet, grounded, fulfilling thing for me.