Quotes from Sarah Shahi

I just like to go where the material is, whether that's TV, or movies, or the stage. As long as it's great writing, it's pretty much something I can't resist.

I was captain of the volleyball team and the basketball team, and I ran track.

It doesn't matter what people say or what the rules say or what you're supposed to do, you go after what's in your heart.

I really got into 'The Walking Dead.' That was genius. And I have to say, my husband is on 'Shameless,' and I think it's a brilliant show.

Once you're sort of pigeonholed into something, it's quite difficult to get out of it. I have no aversion to playing a gay character again, but it would definitely have to be the right role.

To sit next to Walter Hill, and to be able to exchange ideas back and forth, and for him to be able to tell you that he likes what you're doing - I don't know. I kind of pinch myself.

I had a home birth because I really believe in the body's natural ability to give birth. The medical profession has kind of warped women's minds into thinking we don't know how to birth and we need doctors and epidurals and Pitocin.

I like a man who can come out and say he's nervous on the first date. I think that would be really cute.

Michael Emerson is just a prince. There's something about him. He's so sweet. I don't know how to describe it. There's something about him that's a bit royal.

I can take a newspaper and make it a lethal weapon.

Plyometrics. Hate them. Enough already. Jumping around, using your own body weight is so hard to me. How did we do it as kids?

I know it sounds weird, but my definition of 'sexy' has changed as I've gotten older. And being smart and informed makes me feel sexier than any outfit.

I'm a girl in boy's clothing. I like to get a little rough. I prefer mud to makeup. That's me in a nutshell.

My role is to just tell the highest degree of truth with every character and every story. From there, I have no clue whatsoever how things are going to turn out.

Let me tell you, I've never heard a man whine more than Jason Momoa getting knocked around by little ol' me.

My parents divorced when I was 10, but when my father was there, he was trying to create almost like a little prison for me.

Cheerleading was my way in. It was one of the most rigorous audition processes ever. It definitely groomed me for Hollywood.

When I was in my early 20s, I looked towards exterior things to make me feel sexy - guys, clothes, shoes, etc. Now it's all about how I feel internally.

My biggest fantasy was to have a pie thrown in my face, and I always said whoever did that, that's the guy I'd marry.

Honestly, as an actor, all I need to know, the way I kind of look at a scene, is like a puzzle. There are certain puzzle pieces that are bigger than others, and all I need to know is if this is going to fit here to make this part of the puzzle work.

I'm attracted to playing characters that have flaws.

I did karate for about three years. When I was going into Miss Texas, my mom said, 'Let's not do karate this year. Let's not have any knocked-out teeth on the stage.'

You know, I never really paid attention to sports, which, coming from the mecca of football in Texas, is kind of odd. I played sports, but I was nerdy. Having a single mother, the pressure was on me to get good grades and a scholarship and go to college.

I always had that adolescent notion that I had to get out of Texas. But I'm really glad I grew up there. It's where I learned to look people in the eye, to be straightforward and polite.