“There are actresses who build themselves, and then there are actresses who are built by others. I want to build myself.”

“I have this feeling of protectiveness over characters I want to play. I worry about them – if someone else gets the part, I’m afraid they won’t do it right; they will make the character a victim or they will make her a villain or they will just get it wrong somehow. … When I get like that, anything is possible.”

“I never felt like I completely, 100% understood something so well as acting.”

“I like when things are hard; I’m very competitive. If something seems difficult or impossible, it interests me.”

“I hate saying “I like exercising”. I want to punch people who say that in the face. But it’s nice being in shape for a movie, because they basically do it all for you. It’s like “Here’s your trainer. This is what you can eat.” I don’t diet. I do exercise! But I don’t diet. You can’t work when you’re hungry, you know?”

“There’s just no imagination in Hollywood. I wanted to show people Winter’s Bone (2010) for the performance, but it ended up having the opposite effect. People were like “No, she’s not feminine, she’s not sexual.”.”

“It’s always been about the script and the director, for me. There are directors that I want to work with and that I admire. You can love a script, but if it doesn’t have a good director, it won’t be that. I like to adapt to a director’s way of working. I love doing that. Each director is so different, and you have to adapt to this new way of doing something. That’s what’s amazing to me. That’s why I love directors. I don’t want the director to have to work around me. I think it’s more fun for me to come in on their thing.”

“Things can happen to you, but they don’t have to happen to your soul.”

“Don’t worry about the bitches – that could be a good motto, because you come across people like that throughout your life.”

“In Hollywood, I’m obese. I’m considered a fat actress. I eat like a caveman. I’ll be the only actress that doesn’t have anorexia rumors! I’m never going to starve myself for a part. I’m invincible. I don’t want little girls to be like “Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner!”.”

“As soon as somebody farts around me, I think it’s hilarious. This is something my brothers did that now the boys at work are obsessed with. You cup it, and then you throw it in someone’s face and say, “Take a bite out of that cheeseburger!”.”

“I am just a normal girl and a human being, and I haven’t been in this long enough to feel like this is my new normal.”

“My parents saw me so truly happy that they sacrificed everything for my happiness. Without my family, I would be nothing.”

“Maybe one day, I’ll turn into an asshole. But there are too many out there already.”

“All I need in a relationship is someone to watch TV with me.”