Cameron Diaz is on the May 2008 issue of W magazine. The issue hits newsstands nationwide on April 22nd. Photos by Michael Thompson.

Quotes from Cameron Diaz ' W interview:

* On whether she dreamed of being an actress when she was a kid…“Oh, no. I wanted to be a zoologist, to study the sociology of animals,” she says. “But that’s pretty much what I do now anyway. I thought I’d be on the plains of Africa watching lions, but instead I’m in Hollywood watching train wrecks.” And then she busts out laughing and adds hastily, “I’m just kidding.”

· On buying a place in Manhattan…“I’m done with L.A. Those guys [the paparazzi], you can’t get away from them. You have no options because everybody’s in a car. Here, I can walk down the street like everybody else. Not everybody is there to be rich and famous or attach themselves to rich and famous people. People want nothing from you. They just want to say, like, ‘Hey, how’s it going, Cameron?’ I like that interaction. I like to be in a place where I can be open to people and not worry about the consequences.”

* On her goals…“Just kind of taking more time getting to know myself. It sounds so corny that I can’t believe I even just said that, but, you know, there comes a time when you really have to get to know who you are…I’ve just been figuring out what interests me and spending time with people who are important to me and being present in my own life.”

* On Vegas… “I looooove Vegas. It’s such an easy trip from L.A., and there’s always a hotel room because there’s about a billion of them,” she says, before adding with a laugh, “but honestly, you don’t even really need one if you’re just going for the weekend!”