In elementary and high school, I never considered acting as a profession.
— Rashida Jones
Auditioning is the worst.
You know, I definitely have an inclination to work in the public sector.
I think there's just an inherent burden of being alive and being a woman. No man would ever admit that, but I think women know it, which is: You know more than men, you know more than most people you're dealing with every day, and you know that's it up to you to make things move forward, and you get paid half as much, but you just do it.
I am generally cast as the dependable, affable, loving, friend-wife-girlfriend.
I'm friends with a lot of my exes, but it took time. We didn't just get into it. I don't think you can be friends until you're cool with them dating someone else. That's when you know.
I have a lot of girl friends who are very adept at making friends, and guys are just not.
Geeks are finally having their day.
As much as my parents are part of Hollywood, I have no recollection of them giving me advice about it.
My first love, I'll never forget, and it's such a big part of who I am, and in so many ways, we could never be together, but that doesn't mean that it's not forever. Because it is forever.
There's no better way to process pain than to write.
For the most part, it is really nice when people come up to me, because I do think that people who are awkward relate to me, and that's really nice. It's generally good.
Men do weird things when they experience fear. It's like a fight-or-flight thing.
Music is hugely important to me.
My dad always tell me to make decisions from love and not from fear.
My parents are the coolest of the cool on every single level, and it's because they have a deep appreciation for every moment of their lives.
In high school, I was on the youth advisory council for the Mayor's Office of Los Angeles, and that was kind of my first experience in the bureaucratic system. We tried to get things done, and nobody was really interested in getting anything done.
I had a nickname in junior high, and I'm loathe to say this: 'potato lady.'
I love going to weddings.
I have to say, you know, I've seen so many people go through the cycle and become famous and not famous anymore and, you know, want - have their priorities change and want different things.
Women have been interesting forever.
A question I get asked a lot is 'What is it like to play the straight guy all the time?' And I'm totally okay with it.
If I can surround myself with hilarious people every day, I will always want to go to work.
I love being part of an ensemble.
I don't think that there's been one example in history where somebody has openly talked about their personal life and it's done them any good.
Well, dating has become a sport and not about finding the person you love.
I think anybody who has had a long relationship and has had a really hard time letting go, wants to feel like it's not all for naught, and it's meaningful, because it makes you who you are.
There's people who watch shows while they're preparing their dinners, and they don't want to focus, and they don't want to be challenged, and whatever. And then there's people who want to really sit down and get into a character in a world, and feel like they're expanding, or they have complex relationships, or whatever.
In early high school years, I was pretty chubby, and I spent a lot of time on my computer, before it was cool to have a computer - because there was a time that was true. So that's where I developed my personality.
I have six brothers and sisters. We all look totally different: blonde hair, curly hair, green eyes, dark eyes, dark skin, light skin. It's just how it is.
You can never stop discovering music.
I don't think any other emotion is the equivalent of laughter. So I do whatever I can to laugh all the time and to hide my pain.
I've been really lucky thus far with acting, in that I can do things I believe in and feel good about, and feel good about myself. If for some reason one day that ends, I won't do it anymore. If I feel like I have to compromise myself to continue to be in this industry, I don't want to do that.
You can't be an openly gay movie star. You can't be an openly gay pop star, really - minus Ricky Martin.
I think part of being an adult is leaving the fairytale behind.
I totally believe in romance and love and all that.
Good rom-coms have some reflection of the way things are, the sign of the times.
My pet peeve and my goal in life is to somehow get an adjective for 'integrity' in the dictionary. 'Truthful' doesn't really cover it, or 'genuine.' It should be like 'integritus.'
I probably wouldn't be acting if I didn't grow up in Hollywood.
I would be an idiot to say comedy is easy, but it does come naturally. It never feels forced.
Comedy is like music, and the way to make the best music is to have skilled musicians in your band.
People don't believe this, but Hollywood really is a meritocracy.
I like to be in a European city where I can speak my language.
I know what it's like to have my heart broken. It is not adorable.
I love romantic comedies. I have a deep respect for them. I think they're really difficult to write and write well.
People are very nice to me, and they've been nice as my career has gotten better and I've gotten more jobs. But the reality is that if I decided tomorrow that I didn't want to act anymore, it's not like people are going to be like, 'Please, come back!'
Sure, being good at your job is really important, but in acting, so much of the decision's already made the minute you walk in the room because they're like, 'His hair's good or she's got the right skin color' or whatever. It's so random, but it's so physically oriented.
Well, I'm not a method actress by any stretch of the imagination so the best thing that I can do is be as real as possible and find whatever commonality in that character that I can see myself.
I'm a comedy geek so anything comedy related, whether that's standup shows, improv shows, I'm all over that. That's my favorite way to be entertained always.
I can be pretty persuasive if I believe in something strongly enough.
