In this, it's everyone's relationships that inform the other ones and ultimately it kind of all adds up to the notion that our idea of what a family is, that we've been fed by the Cleavers and "Happy Days" and whatever else, it just isn't the same anymore. There are all different kinds of families that work.

The scene at the mall, where your character admires Juno's big, pregnant belly, is really quite remarkable, in no small part because much of what happens isn't in what's being said, it's just watching a whole raft of emotions play across your face. What did that scene look like in the script?

Even though Diablo wrote everything out pretty clearly, it just looked like a little blip on the page, but Jason and I always knew what a big moment that was for her.

Maybe this sounds silly, but I just see it as the baby loving her back and accepting her. And how badly she needed that. And as silly as it is to think of it that way, you can't control whether a baby is going to kick or not. She just needed that so badly, to have some connection with this child that this crazy girl is carrying, the opposite of anyone she would want to carry her child.

If Vanessa had been pregnant she would have had a pregnancy journal, eaten those stupid menus with banana-nut smoothies and rice cakes. She would have followed it to a T.

So it's about finding herself in this position where this girl is in charge of her happiness and for a brief moment she gets how it's all supposed to go together. She's allowed to have a little bit of ownership, and it's the first time the baby affects her emotionally instead of as this thing that's been unattainable to her.

I'm wondering if, after action and fantasy roles in things like "Alias" and "13 Going on 30," part of what drew you to this role was the opportunity to just play a regular person.

The whole point of being an actress is to play all different kinds of roles, do all different kinds of things. And I have certainly filled my fantasy quota for a little while, but I was really attracted to this because Jason was directing and the script was so great. I can't say there was any larger kind of career scheming behind it.

But, and this may also be why you decided to appear in "Cyrano" on stage, was it good to work your acting muscles a little more for a change, as opposed to the jumping and punching?

Definitely. It's only fun to be an actor if you get to act. Or else it can be kind of a mindless job. But this year hasn't been that for me -- I have learned a ton and I've had so much fun.

But I didn't take "Cyrano" because I had something to prove, quite the opposite. I took it because I wanted to do it, and I thought it would make me happy. It came along unexpectedly, and I was literally just about to take a movie role the next day.... When this came along my heart wouldn't let me take the other job. No matter how much everyone in L.A. thought that I was a little bit nuts.

So, hypothetically, if Jennifer Garner is nominated for best supporting actress for "Juno" and Amy Ryan is nominated for best supporting actress for "Gone Baby Gone" [directed and co-written by Garner's husband, Ben Affleck], will that cause any awkward dinner table moments?

No, because just the thought of being nominated for anything is so flattering but seems a pretty far-fetched dream. But it's so clear in my family who would be supported in that case. One person would be supported emotionally and the other would be supported professionally. There's not even a question in my mind, so I couldn't even get my little feelings hurt about it. I would be right there supporting her too.

That's an extremely diplomatic and yet kindhearted response.

It's honest. That is the absolute truth.