AMNA NAWAZ: Known for both comedic and dramatic# roles, Rose Byrne has already won a Golden## Globe for best actress this award season for the# psychological drama "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.

"## She's been acting professionally for more than# 30 years, and now she's up for her first Oscar.

Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown recently## joined her in New York for our# arts and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: It's a portrait of a woman# coming undone, under so much pressure,## it's breaking her.

In the film "If I Had Legs I'd# Kick You," Rose Byrne plays Linda, with a severely## ill daughter hooked up to a feeding tube,# an often absent second-guessing husband.

Things are so bad, the roof of her home# literally collapses.

a therapist herself,## she's in therapy.

Conan O'Brien,# in a dramatic turn, plays her## unhelpful therapist.

And she's begging# someone, anyone, to tell her what to do.

ROSE BYRNE, Actress: But I'm asking# you a thing, an actual thing,## a problem to fix that I need help with# this.

Am I supposed to just sit around## and watch her fail and this is just# going to go on forever?

What do I do?

CONAN O'BRIEN, Actor: OK, that# means there's no drinking,## there's no drugs, there's no -- you have to... ROSE BYRNE: Are you listening# to me?

Can you hear me?

JEFFREY BROWN: What this# woman is going -- what your## character is going through can be hard to watch.

ROSE BYRNE: I know.

(LAUGHTER) ROSE BYRNE: There's an element of# just -- like, of trying something,## being on a dangerous tightrope every day.

She's# unraveling.

But when -- how the unraveling looks## and at which parts, so she's trying to keep# it together and when she really falls apart,## so it was challenging, yes.# I didn't want to mess it up.

(LAUGHTER) JEFFREY BROWN: Now, 46, the Australian.. including 2004's "Troy," horror# in the "Insidious" series,## and comedy foiled to Kristen Wiig# in the 2011 film "Bridesmaids"... ROSE BYRNE: Can you stop?

Stop.

JEFFREY BROWN: ... and to Seth Rogen on# the curren.. "Legs" is based in part on director Mary# Bronstein's real-life experience with## her daughter's illness.

Byrne says# she and Bronstein spent hours and## hours before production talking about the# character, trying to get a grasp on her.

You have said that you like to# know everything about a character,## who she was before the moment# we're seeing you on camera.

ROSE BYRNE: Yes.

Well, I was obse.. I was just obsessed with who she was before# she was a parent, when she was a teenager,## like -- and everyone's going to respond# differently to a crisis.

And why is she## responding like that?

What is her# temperament?

What happened to her?## What's her story?

And that actor's homework# stuff that's so sort of boring, but that I... JEFFREY BROWN: Yes, but not# all actors like that.

I mean,## some actors just want to be dropped -- right?

ROSE BYRNE: Absolutely, absolutely.

Oh, I have worked with actors who don't want# .. and they don't want -- they want# to be completely authentic and in## the moment and spontaneous.

But I was# just -- I was less interested in, like,## relating it to myself than relating# it to this character of who she was.

ACTRESS: Mommy, Addie (ph) scares me.

She# only eat Nutella.

I need you, to be with you.

JEFFREY BROWN: One of the most# striking things about this film## is your face is on camera, but in real close-up.

ROSE BYRNE: I know.

(LAUGHTER) JEFFREY BROWN: W.. ROSE BYRNE: Yes, it was like a# few inches from my face, yes.

JEFFREY BROWN: The camera was right there?

ROSE BYRNE: I could hear it going# click, click, cl.. we were shooting on film, on 35.

JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.

Yes.

ROSE BYRNE: And .. And so I was contending with technically just# drowning out the noise and giving Mary what she## would need, but also trying to be also in the# moment, so not -- it's a balance, right, that## tightrope of, like, acting for the camera.

But# never have I had the camera that close to my face.

JEFFREY BROWN: But I'm curious# and I'm imagining.

Most people## don't know how this works for you as an# actress with -- vis-a-vis the camera.

ROSE BYRNE: Yes.

JEFFREY BROWN: Y.. ROSE BYRNE: Yes, that's a great question.

It was# like, I guess, I think every actor has a good,## decent power to disassociate, for better# or worse.

And in this case, I dove deep## into my ability to disassociate, because it's so# close, so everything is magnified 1000 percent.

It's like, OK, what don't you need?

Just# it's just going to be minimal when it's## that close.

And that was something I hadn't# really been required to do before on screen.

You keep telling us that it isn't our fault.

ACTRESS: Yes.

ROSE BYRNE: But it is.

JEFFREY BROWN: In other words, how much# to withhold as well as let loose,and .. much to use moments of dark comedy to# leaven the pain of a woman questioning## whether she should be a mother and whether# she's to blame for her child's problems.

ROSE BYRNE: She's failed and that I failed.

JEFFREY BROWN: Byrne, herself the mother of# two young boys with her longti.. fellow actor Bobby Cannavale, says the film taps# into larger cultural issues around motherhood.

ROSE BYRNE: It's such a varied# experience.

And that is what's## so wonderful about this script is that# it really showed a side that we don't## really see of a woman who's like I# don't think I should be doing this.

And I was so fascinated with that.

And who# was she?

Again, back to, like, I can relate,## of course, to the relentless nature of being a# parent, and she captures that raw kind of feeling## when you're really struggling.

But I have not had# a child with a serious illness, thank God, I mean,## knock on wood, like that.

And hopefully 99 percent# of parents won't go through what she went through.

We spoke to mothers who have# children with special needs,## and that was fascinating to see their# varied experiences and what that was like.

JEFFREY BROWN: You mean as# part of your preparation?

ROSE BYRNE: Yes, part of the pr.. to me from both -- from all different worlds# who've just said, I feel seen.

I feel seen.

JEFFREY BROWN: Also to that end, Byrne# co-founded Dollhouse Pictures with## Australian friends and colleagues to# prioritize female-driven storytelling.

ROSE BYRNE: A lot of it is really also, I think,## as an actor trying to find your own agency,# because often you don't have any and you're## sort of waiting for things to happen, and# things come your way and things don't.

So, I have been really inspired by other# actresses who've done that before me,## who just try to source material# and find stuff and develop it.

JEFFREY BROWN: But are you satisfied# with where you're at right now?

ROSE BYRNE: Oh, my gosh, I feel -- and# it's funny.

Yes, at a moment like this,## you sort of naturally take# stock a bit and reflect.

JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.

ROSE BYRNE: I think I'm just still# myself.

But I feel very, very gr.. JEFFREY BROWN: You're going home from this# interview, you said, to pick up the kids.

ROSE BYRNE: Exactly, going to pick up kids.

JEFFREY BROWN: Right.

ROSE BYRNE: But .. feel very honored.

And it's surreal.

And, again,## the film is -- it's a small movie and it's a# challenging film, so it feels extra magi.. JEFFREY BROWN: Rose Byrne goes# for her first Oscar on March 15.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm# Jeffrey Brown in New York.