One of the most memorable debut performances in a feature film this past year was unquestionably that of Shailene Woodley, as Alexandra King in Alexander Payne’s The Descendants. At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), she was honored for her portrayal as the 17-year-old daughter of a distant father (played by George Clooney) and comatose mother. Collider was there to cover and attend the event, and we’ve compiled the highlights of what the always friendly actress had to say, both on the press line and during the Q&A.

While there, Shailene Woodley talked about what the whole award season experience has been like for her, what she was doing when she found out she had been cast in the film, that Alexander Payne is one of her top five favorite human beings on the planet, how much she appreciated George Clooney’s understated comradery, how exciting it is to know that her ABC Family TV show The Secret Life of the American Teenager will make it to the 100 episodes mark since it just got picked up for Season 5, and how she would love to play a really dark and messed up character. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

In Alexander Payne’s latest film, The Descendants, actress Shailene Woodley gives a movie star-making performance as Alexandra, the rebellious 17-year-old daughter of Matt King (George Clooney). With their mother in a coma, after a tragic boating accident, Alexandra and her precocious 10-year-old sister, Scottie (Amara Miller), find themselves on a course toward rebuilding their family and lives, as their father re-examines his past and determines what that means for his future.

At the film’s press day, Shailene Woodley talked about responding to such a real and messy story, the transition in going from her hit ABC Family drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager to this big screen role, her own rebellious period when she was 14 and 15, what it was like to work with “superhuman” George Clooney, and that she enjoys acting because it fuels a passion in her. Check out what she had to say after the jump.