It feels great to not be standing behind a bunch of men, but to actually be standing in front of it as women with something that we made, something t… - Mary Elizabeth Winstead

I think it’s been a very slow progression for me in terms of shifting the perspective. I did a lot of really, really small films that, at least for me, shifted my trajectory in terms of the way that I saw myself as an actor and the projects that I wanted to pursue. I think it helped me bring a deeper level of understanding to the characters that I play, whether they’re in small films or big films. So I think taking some time out to focus on really small, character-driven roles helped lead me to those bigger projects that were also really character-driven and demanded a certain level of depth that I might not have had without those smaller, more character-focused independent films.

There’s always going to be challenges and barriers, but you have to be adaptable and go, "OK, if that’s not going to work for me, then this is a passion I have as well." I was passionate about a lot of things in the performing arts, so I was lucky ballet wasn’t the only love in my professional life. I wanted to perform, and I didn’t feel ballet was going to allow me to do that to the extent that I wanted to. Acting seemed like a good transition from that.

If you have a problem and you're also successful, everyone does whatever they can to keep it going. I see that a lot.