AMY HILL

I was mortified by my parents - what they did, who they were, everything. I hated who I was. I hated everything, and I would live in a fantasy world and try to be different. But that's not a lot different, I think, than a lot of kids.

If I play one psychic, then I'm playing a psychic at least three or four more times.

I lived in San Francisco for about eight years and I did a lot of improvisation there. The improvisational world ruled the voice world in San Francisco, so I became a voice talent there and did a lot of commercials and worked all the time. But I never could break into animation.

I'm really comfortable doing voice-overs, but it's really fun to do animation. Those animation talents are hysterical. They're so good, and they're so amazingly quick on their feet.

I love to perform and I love to perform characters, and sometimes when I'm doing television and film, I just feel like I'm making a living. I'm good at it, but I'm not really being artistically challenged.

You never know how things are going to turn out.

It's so nice to run into people even now who - if I'm out, a couple of times a week, somebody comes up to me and says, 'I just loved you in '50 First Dates.' That movie is my favorite movie. I just watched it last night.' In my head, I'm always thinking, 'You're kidding me. I never watch anything twice.'

I'm usually sort of ambiguous in terms of whether I'm playing a good person or a bad person. I can walk that line of funny but also dark, and I'm happy doing that.

When the writing is good and it suits your character, you don't have to memorize anything, because it just makes sense. You read it and you go, "Oh, that makes sense." And it's easy.

As I wrote about my childhood, I realized that there was no big tragedy. Being multiethnic is not a tragedy. I didn't have any big life-threatening illnesses, no tumors, no kidney malfunctions... I came from a very poor family. I was chubby as a kid.

I'm usually sort of ambiguous in terms of whether I'm playing a good person or a bad person. I can walk that line of funny but also dark, and I'm happy doing that.

I was mortified by my parents - what they did, who they were, everything. I hated who I was. I hated everything, and I would live in a fantasy world and try to be different. But that's not a lot different, I think, than a lot of kids.

It's so nice to run into people even now who - if I'm out, a couple of times a week, somebody comes up to me and says, 'I just loved you in '50 First Dates.' That movie is my favorite movie. I just watched it last night.' In my head, I'm always thinking, 'You're kidding me. I never watch anything twice.'

Compared to other forms of drama, performance art is often thought of as inaccessible and overly artsy. I prefer to think of it as storytelling, something that has been with us through the ages and a part of every culture.

As I wrote about my childhood, I realized that there was no big tragedy. Being multiethnic is not a tragedy. I didn't have any big life-threatening illnesses, no tumors, no kidney malfunctions... I came from a very poor family. I was chubby as a kid.

It would be great if people could guess right off that I am Japanese-Finnish-American. But then I'd have to be wearing a kimono and pulling a reindeer.

I'm really comfortable doing voice-overs, but it's really fun to do animation. Those animation talents are hysterical. They're so good, and they're so amazingly quick on their feet.

Now, you always know there's going to be some compromise when you're doing something for television, and especially network television.

If I play one psychic, then I'm playing a psychic at least three or four more times.

When you work with kids, you realize if they have a really good, stable family environment that they're going to be okay.

I'm really comfortable doing voice-overs, but it's really fun to do animation.

I naturally think in terms of comedy whenever I see anything because tragedy is so close to comedy, so I like to add the tragedy to the comedy or a little bit of comedy to the tragedy in order to make them both feel more real to me.

I love to perform and I love to perform characters, and sometimes when I'm doing television and film, I just feel like I'm making a living. I'm good at it, but I'm not really being artistically challenged.

It's a special kind of acting, soap opera acting. It's hard for me.

You never know how things are going to turn out.

When the writing is good and it suits your character, you don't have to memorize anything, because it just makes sense. You read it and you go, "Oh, that makes sense." And it's easy.

People who work on soaps all the time understand the formula of how to do it.

There's still formulaic stuff on network television, but there's also more of an opportunity to have your way with storytelling, especially in sitcoms. That's what the difference is.

When you're going to spend a couple of weeks with people, you want to be with people that are enjoyable.

I've never done any Hallmark movies. I don't know why.

They're amazing, these actors who have worked on soaps for years and years and years. They know what they're doing. They don't hold you word-for-word on every line and you can fudge it a little, but they know what they're saying and they repeat it every time they come on.

I lived in San Francisco for about eight years and I did a lot of improvisation there. The improvisational world ruled the voice world in San Francisco, so I became a voice talent there and did a lot of commercials and worked all the time. But I never could break into animation.