"I can tell you a recent book I read that I was incredibly moved by: I read Olive Kitteridge when I was making United States of Tara, and it was my introduction to Elizabeth Strout's writing, who I think is so incredibly talented," the Unbelievable actress told OprahMag.com. "She knows and understands humanity on a level that very few people can express. So I was given an advanced copy of the sequel, Olive, Again—and man, I couldn't put it down! It moved me to tears. I laughed out loud, and I just love everything that Elizabeth Strout writes"

"Godfather one and two, as one movie — but not blended together; I don’t think that worked when they tried to combine them [for the TV version]. I have to just say that The Godfather is a quintessential American film, where it’s absolutely satisfying. The writing is so excellent — what is being said, and the nuance of what is being said, is so understood. And the color, again, situates you in a particular moment in time. It’s a portrait of America. It’s one of those things where storytelling and acting found one of those magical, elegant solutions…"

"New York is where I go in my head a lot when I’m writing. I have deep imprints of the city in my backbone: sounds, smells, music, pizza parlors, Chelsea Hotel, TV, fire hydrants oozing, the Lower East Side, people everywhere living their lives inside-out, on top, and through each other… maybe there is something even more in the memories old New York in the ‘70s—unpolished, unclean, lived in. It’s all there in this coming of age story of a young Puerto Rican boy/man. I feel this story all around in my memory bank."