Q: Now that you're a parent, do you find yourself more drawn to child-related causes?
A: I have always been drawn to child-related causes. I find that people listen to me more when I advocate for children now that I have kids.
Q: What's been more physically demanding: doing fight scenes in Alias and action movies or being a working mom?
A: They are [demanding] in different ways. Alias set me up in a good way for motherhood because I could run on no sleep for so long and I could push myself so hard. Everybody talked about how hard the sleep thing was with babies and I thought, This isn't that bad! You're sleeping some! But it's never-ending. There's never a weekend and there's never a night. That's what's harsh. What's physically harder is having to stay in shape for my job—on Alias at least, it was just part of my day no matter what. Now finding that hour, 45 minutes, half an hour to give to myself, it's much harder. I have to do it before they're awake.
Q: Are you more of a cook-at-home person versus takeout?
A: Definitely. Rarely do I do takeout. I like to be in charge of what we eat—I'm a control freak that way!
Q: What are some of the meals you make your kids?
A: I make really homey, homey food. Just the other night I did a roast chicken and I roasted some butternut squash with a little brown sugar and pureed it, and brown rice and roasted broccoli. When my daughter is the hungriest, that's when I try to have vegetables out for her to snack on, while I'm finishing dinner. So, I don't start with putting her favorite thing in front of her—I start with some snap peas or broccoli with dip or carrots or something just to get her going, and I feel that that works pretty well. My mom did that with us.
Q: What's your ideal family getaway?
A: I just want us to go somewhere where we can go for a walk.
Q: What are you reading right now?
A: I'm reading a bunch of stuff. The House on Mango Street—my mother-in-law gave it to me, she always give me books. I'm reading Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, the book by Nicholas Kristof and his wife [Sheryl WuDunn], and a bunch of scripts.
Q: What are your tips for working moms?
A: Don't be afraid to ask for help or just try to get help wherever you can. Don't guilt yourself—it doesn't help.
Q: What piece of advice did your mom give you that you want to pass on to your kids?
A: My mom is full of good advice! She always says, "Happiness is your own responsibility" [and] she always says, "Weeping may last through the night but joy comes in the morning"—that's the thing she said with every breakup or anytime you did poorly on something.
Q: Being a mom, you obviously have less time to spend on yourself, but you always seem to make it work. Any tips?
A: If you look at the pictures that are taken every day of my life, you will see that I do not make it work. I'm in the jeans that were on the floor from the night before and one of the five T-shirts I rotate. I do know moms who pull it together every day. I am not one of them. When I do pull it together, I try to really pull it together so that it makes an impact. Sometimes, for yourself, you just need to take a shower, put on something clean, put on a little blush, and go out into the world.
