• on her audition with Andrew Lloyd Webber for The Phantom of the Opera “He had the most magnificent apartment I had ever seen and I was floored by it. I went in and started vocalizing with the accompanist and Andrew walked in as we were preparing. He didn’t say hello, didn’t introduce himself, and just sat down in front of me and said, “Shall we?” I thought to myself it was my one shot so I had better just stand up and do it, so I didn’t introduce myself, I nodded to the accompanist and I did the two biggest numbers in the show. Then he stood up and said, “That was great. I’m Andrew.”
• regarding her visit to a psychic who told her some accurate things about her late grandmother “I’m a very rational person but I pray every day.”
• “The truth is, I probably didn’t want to be friends with some of those girls [from prep school], because I found that a lot of their values were a little specious. Now, of course, all those girls are calling me and being like, “We should have lunch!” and I’m like, “Um . . . don’t you remember how you didn’t like me that much?”
• “I’m heavy on preparation . . . Some actors come to the set and don’t know what scene they’re playing, but that would make me crazy. It’s not about control but perfectionism–my biggest vice and one of my biggest assets.
• “I’m convinced wearing those corsets for 14 hours at a time deformed me for life. I was 16 years old and still growing at the time of the shooting. I could barely breathe, and with Christine’s intense emotions I hyperventilated and almost passed out. I think her name is Christine for a reason. She is Christ-like.”
• about kissing Patrick Wilson in The Phantom of the Opera “In this one scene, it took three days to shoot and it’s the scene where my character passionately kisses her fiancé for the first time. It was so complex with the snow coming down that it took three days to shoot. By the end of the three days I’d kissed him so much that my lips had swollen up–so much that I had to use an ice pack in between takes. Hardship, I know!”
• “I like René Descartes’ theory about a ball of wax. You can change its form from solid to liquid, but it’s still the same ball of wax. With acting, you are the same person in a different form. You can only be what you know, and you only truly know yourself.”
• “Sean Penn and Clint Eastwood have told me that I shouldn’t feel that I need to be in the limelight or the spotlight all the time. A career is about longevity, as shown in their careers. So, I really want to only do the best things and work with the best people. That’s what I strive to do.”
• “I think of all my roles, I was best in Genius.”