»When I'm doing a big crying scene, I go to a really dark place inside me. I almost torture myself by drawing on the emotions of my past

»(about filming "Grey's Anatomy") It's gross. We use real brains. I think they're lamb or cow or something. Intestines smell. Brains don't really smell, but what's amazing about the brain is that it's almost like scrambled eggs or soft tofu, almost like a gel. The brain controls so much of what we do, but you could put your finger right through it

»(about fame) The trap is when you start to pay attention to that stuff and care, because in six months, they're going to be looking at someone else. You know how fickle everyone is. They love it, then they hate it, then they love it. So I'm going to enjoy it because it could be over at any minute

»(about the perks of her job) Several members of my family have been admitted to the hospital since the show started, and when they feel like the treatment isn't good enough, they say, "Do you know who my niece is?" And suddenly they're in the VIP area, getting pedicures in bed

»It’s pretty remarkable how many people the show touches... I think we are very lucky in that way so, I love when the fans come up to us because they usually have really interesting stories. We are very grateful to the fans, we would have no show without them, you know? You could have the best writing in the world, and you could have the best acting in the world, but if the fans don’t tune in every week, there’s no show. So, I think we have them to be the most thankful for

»(About CPR being done on her for Grey’s Anatomy)To make it look believable they really have to pump on your chest. And after a while, of course your heart does respond. So my heart, I had, kept having this, like, palpitations. It’s making me feel really strange to have people do CPR on me for hours and hours at the time. I don’t think it’s that great for you. So after the first day, I told Rob, who is directing the episodes, I said “You have to get me some sort of, you know, chest plate”. So they got this plastic chest plates. I think they used the ones from, that the girls used for Charlie’s Angels. They had 3 sort of busts and I think I got Demi’s, and I wore that, under all the blankets so when they were doing CPR on me I didn’t really have to feel the impact. So that made things a lot better for me.

»(On doing her own stunts)You never know, sort of, when they explain the stunt you say “Oh, that sounds really simple and I can do that, it’s no problem. I sort of figured that I was just going to fall back on a mat, you know and that it will look fine. But you feet have to disappear. And you know the guys who come and do the stunts, they know so much about it and they make you feel so safe. So it’s just fun, and you get to be on location and do something different.

»(About working with Kate Burton) My mother storyline you know, it’s so rich. And I have Kate Burton who’s extraordinary, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner...I already miss my scenes with her. Maybe I’ll go to heaven again and see her or something, you never know!

» (On working in a series)The thing about series television is that is very difficult the aspect of never knowing where your character is going or where she’ll end up. You know, we have no idea where the end of this is. Or what the end of each season is, for that matter. I guess it’s made me a more adaptable actor, you know you sort of have to be more creative

»(About the engagement ring Chris Ivery gave her) He got it in Beverly Hills and spent his entire life savings, which I could kill him for. I was very mad about it. Some days I really love it, and some days I just want to sell it and give the money to charity

»(About Meredith’s near death experience) One episode I could be completely happy and the next episode I'm trying to commit suicide. Of course it was a surprise and then I just had to figure out how Meredith got to that place and hope the audience would stay with me. I think what was frustrating was after that near-death experience when she had this revelation that Derek was a great guy and she wanted to live for him, then she comes back and everything goes back to normal. It didn't seem to have taken me anywhere significantly, which is why I think the whole three-part ferry episode was just a distraction from what was going on with Isaiah and everything behind the scenes on our show at the time

»I just worry about the girls who look up to me -- I don't want them to think I starve myself or don't eat, and that to be like me that's what they have to do.

»(On her more "steamy" scenes with Patrick): It's awkward with Patrick because he's like my brother. As soon as the camera is off, I'm like, "Is your hand on my butt?" But there are millions of girls who have been waiting for this, so I feel an obligation to the fans

»I don't find acting to be a particularly noble way to make a living. I'm not saving anybody's life, I'm not a teacher, I'm not working for UNICEF. I don't think I'm some big deal

»(On tabloids attacking her for looking anorexic) Growing up, I was horribly self-conscious about how skinny I was. You think it's never going to be as horrible as sixth, seventh, eighth grade when all the other girls are getting boobs. Now, all of a sudden, it's back to people saying things to me again

»(On her days as a cocktail waitress) I wouldn’t say I was a good drink maker, but I was a very good hustler. I’d abuse the customers, yell and scream at them and make them wait. If they put money down on the bar and it wasn’t enough, I’d go wait on someone else who was giving me enough money. If they put another five down and I made them wait longer, pretty soon there would be $20 on the bar. Then I’d come over and give them a drink

»(On her wedding): I’m not gonna have a big wedding. It’s not even gonna be necessarily a big event or anything like that. Very private. Just something between Chris and I. We want to have one thing for ourselves. You know. We want to have fun. We have a goal of trying to keep our marriage a secret for 24 hours. We’re gonna try to keep that. That’s our goal

»I was raised by drag queens, practically... My mother died when I was four-years-old, so I was effectively raised by a bunch of different people. A lot of those people were friends of my sister, Kathleen, who had all these gay friends. She would baby-sit me everyday, and she would take me over to her friend's houses with all kinds of things going on: tucking, and eyebrow drawing, waxing, all sorts of things. I was literally raised by gay men

»Talking about Meredith and Derek in the Season 3 finale): I don't think you need sadness to have drama. My boyfriend and I are very happy and we still manage to be dramatic every day

»(On her first boyfriend): I didn’t have any confidence as a young girl, because all the other girls had breasts and hips. I was always thin, always called the stick or the pencil. I didn’t have a boyfriend until I was 16, and he was eight years older. My father was furious about this 24-year-old, and I had to hide the relationship

»(Talking about how Grey's Anatomy is different from other medical shows) This is about having sex in closets with other doctors and having free time

»(Talking about Grey's Anatomy): Everyone keeps asking me if I’m nervous, I’m really not, you know I don’t really think about what’s going to happen with the show. I’m getting to act everyday and that’s really what I love and I’m so happy to be doing that, I’ll worry about what happens when it happens

»(when asked what the similarities between her and Meredith have in common) She wasn't much of a student, and that certainly was me. The fact that I'm convincing is a huge triumph for me because I'm not that [kind of] book person. I adore books but on my time and not in a classroom. I was very restless. I'm a gypsy at heart. As soon as I turned 18, I started traveling

»(On her character Meredith Grey): She's smart enough to make her way through medical school but she can't figure out that she can't sleep with strangers all the time

»(joking about Patrick Dempsey): They force me to work with him. They offered me more money to put up with him, so I agreed

»(on Grey’s Anatomy) I would say the surgery scenes are kind of gross. It smells. It is unpleasant. There are usually animal parts

»(about distracting her fiancé when she has a steamy scene air on Grey’s Anatomy): I thought I was being really clever in distracting him right at nine o'clock and I asked him if he could help me with the laundry so that he wouldn't see that portion of the show. Then, 20 minutes later, he realized, 'The show's on and we're not watching it.' I said, 'That's OK, we can get to it.' He said, 'Oh well, I have it TiVo'd so we're OK

»(talking about when she was complimented by actor Jake Gyllenhaal shortly after arriving in Hollywood. Just three weeks later, she was working with him on Moonlight Mile): It was the best thing that happened to me all week - to say the very least...I was so flattered. I thanked him and told him how much I hoped we would have a chance to work together one day

»(About the cast of Grey's Anatomy): The chemistry between the cast is very important. We're a family and have respect for each other. And we have fun, which comes across

»(about Patrick Dempsey) I haven't publicly said this before, but I do have a crush on him

»(about Patrick Dempsey): Patrick is very adorable, but very married in real life. I'm very good friends with his wife

»I wasn't allowed to wear makeup until I was 15, so I would put it on at school