Elizabeth Banks on Balancing Motherhood and Career

ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — Actress Elizabeth Banks has never been busier, starring in six movies this year and shooting Pitch Perfect 2 and the final installment of The Hunger Games.

But the mother of two always puts her boys first.

“I balance it by always putting my children’s health and safety first,” she told New You magazine. “Then I feel OK to go and do the job I love.”

But Banks, 40, believes the “balance” issue is more of a mommy problem.

“I don’t think dads do it as well as moms, quite frankly, as I don’t think there’s any pressure on them to balance anything in their lives when it comes to parents being at work,” she told the magazine.

“I try not to feel that pressure, either,” she added. “I actually have a girlfriend who works in the Justice Department, going after criminals and the mafia, and she’s got three kids. Parenting is challenging any way you slice it.”

If she’s feeling the pressure, it doesn’t show. Then again, the blonde beauty has never emphasized her looks.

“I didn’t quite believe I was pretty for a long time. I never thought about it,” she said. “I’m very genetically blessed, I cannot deny it, but I work hard at keeping myself together. Yes, I have nice cheekbones and skinny legs but I can’t take any credit for it.”

What she has relied on is her comic skills.

“Your funny gets developed pretty early on,” the 30 Rock actress told New You. “Comedy requires that you understand as much as possible about the viewpoints of all people and everything that’s going on around you. It genuinely requires a true point of view, a real sense of your own view of things in the world.”

For Banks, it’s also about making fun of the powerful and not the vulnerable.

“Comedy often comes at the expense of others, and to do that smartly, you don’t want to make fun of vulnerable people,” she said. “You want to make fun of people in power, and so you need to really understand the dynamics of power.”

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