In comedy, it's not the glamorous, beautiful people that are great at comedy. They're either every man or every woman, they're either quite tall and lanky or shorter and fatter or have a big nose. They have something physically about them that makes them into a comic stereotype.
I really like writing from real-life experiences. Audiences seem to prefer the stuff I couldn't have made up.
There are so many glamorous actresses, but you know what? In the real world, nobody looks like that.
I like to have the stamina to work 16 hours a day. I may eat a lot, but I am very healthy.
I remember just sitting down one day and going, 'I should have friends.' And then I developed a sense of humour. By the end of high school, I would say I was the most popular girl.
No one in my family is in show business, unless you count dog shows as show business.
I'm trained in musical theatre and 'Pitch Perfect' is the first movie where I get to really belt out. I beat Adele for that role.
In 'Night At The Museum 3,' with Ben Stiller, I was only given a couple of lines. If you are in guys' comedies, it's not like you are ever going to just get handed some jokes and a brilliant role.
Even when I'm playing someone named 'Fat Amy.' I'm all about confidence and attitude.
Where I come from, out in the suburbs, I didn't know anyone who was a professional actor. And girls that looked like me? No girls like that were on TV.
The more I know about America, the better I'll be at performing American characters and American stories.
I love talking in an American accent. Even though it hurts my face after a few hours.
I don't think I could ever go skinny. I just don't think, physiologically, that is going to happen. I do eat healthily for a week, and then I go, 'Nah, they have these beautiful ice-cream sandwiches.' I don't think my emotional eating is ever going to change.
'A League of Their Own' had some special meaning for me, I guess - it's about women joining together and being empowered, but also about sisters sticking together even when there's drama and struggles. I'm really close to my two sisters and my brother, so I liked that about it.
I remember my first taste of American big movies was 'Ghost Rider.' I'm in two little scenes. But for those two little scenes they had 400 extras, upside-down stunt cars, and a fire brigade.
I was planning to go into law or politics. I was well known for my public speaking. I went to an all-girl boarding school with uniforms. It was very posh for someone like me who came from a world where my parents showed beagles and sold dog products out of a yellow caravan.
As a kid, I never thought I'd be an actress. Never, ever, ever, no way. I was really shy - bordering on social disorder shy - and I was really academic.
I used to watch some of the reality shows about models, and then, weirdly, now I try to incorporate into my fashion shoots the skills I learnt from watching those shows. It's like, thanks Tyra, 'cause you've given me, like, all the cool tips. Like how to smile with your eyes.
I wrote my own play, 'The Westie Monologues,' about where I'm from in Australia, and it was very successful. From that, I started getting offers from television.
I went to a Christian high school, so I went under my middle name. I don't think they would have accepted me in the school - 'This is Rebel'... so I have two middle names, Melanie Elizabeth, and I went under those. But Rebel's way cooler.
