Molly Shannon quotes:

When I was on 'Saturday Night Live,' all I did was work.

I went to drama school at New York University.

She's true to herself and she's determined. She has things going against her, but she forges ahead despite all of that. I think that's encouraging. She's got some problems, but she has hope and tries to plow through things. I think that's a good role model.

I actually went to college with Adam Sandler. He was a dramatic actor, too!

I think things get a lot better after high school. I think the ones that struggle during that time tend to have better experiences after.

The three words every woman really longs to hear: I'll clean up.

I like both movies and TV, so I don't have some big grand plan.

I consider my comedy to be dramatic comedy. I always wanted music underscoring the dramatic monologue. It was always drama with comedy, in my head.

I want to do something I feel like I can do.

Losing my mom at such a young age had a profound effect on my life.

I can't believe when you write something from within, how many people relate to it.

I definitely have loads of respect for writers and the art of writing.

I do use my body a lot, to click into a character.

I think in show business, it's really kind of easy to perpetuate that feeling of, like, Oh, I don't measure up. Or always having to prove yourself.

I try to put my own history in my work.

I'm so respectful of good writing. It's the blueprint for the movie. You have to have that script there because, if you don't, you're going to have problems. It's very important. It's also a gut instinct.

I barely have time to watch stuff that I'm in, or my friends' stuff. The bar for writing has really elevated and it's really exciting, it's not just parts for 25-year-olds.

I certainly struggled when I was little and didn't have an easy time, so I try to put that stuff in my work.

I do make a conscious effort to not repeat old patterns, instead of being like, But they don't want me! I haven't always been that way.

I don't want to do something, if I don't feel like I can do a good job serving the material.

I feel like there is this resurgence of amazing roles for women. It's because TV is so good - there are amazing parts for women on TV, and it's upped the game in movies.

I have always loved both drama and comedy.

I really love having lots of down time with my kids.

I think people pick up on that. You use personal stuff and mix it all in - I definitely pull on that stuff in my acting.

I think that being a mother, you would do anything for your children. Their pain is your pain; if they're in pain, you feel their pain.

If it's not happening, write your own thing!

I'm healthy, I have beautiful children and a beautiful life. I don't want to go toward negative stuff because I'm scared.

I'm very driven by writing.

In real life, I always look at people and how they walk, or how they carry themselves. I think about the body a lot, in performance.

I've definitely read stuff that I've been offered, where I've been like, "I can't do this. I think somebody would be better in this than me."

I've got wonderful people I get to work with, and I'm trying to focus on that, instead of worrying about, Aw, who doesn't want to work with me? You focus on the ones who do.

Marriage can be complicated.

Most comedians come from a dark past and have a lot of sadness.

Nobody knows how long you're going to have life on Earth, so you really have to work at being joyous and happy.

People struggle in marriages and more than 55% of people get divorced.

Sometimes a fan comes up to me, and I'm really interested in how they're acting, so I'll study them and use that in my material.

The clothes, the shoes, the gold belts and the necklaces always click me into the character, for sure. You could not feel the character, and then you put on the shoes and get the walk.

The love of a parent, that connection, it's eternal.

There's so much to watch, I can't even keep up.

You can make the audience laugh, be funny and sad at the same time.

You really get a feeling, when you're reading scripts, pretty quickly. Within 20 or 25 pages, you can get a sense of the part. I always think about whether I'm right for it and whether I can do it. If I don't think I'm right for it, it should go to somebody else.

In real life, my son had a little injury a couple of years ago where we had moved into a new house and he put his hand through a glass window and it cut him really badly. Thank god he had surgery and repaired everything, but I remember I felt frozen I was so scared, and then I realized I was holding my hand just because his hand was hurt.