Amy Adams identifies with dogs

Los Angeles - Amy Adams says her "spiritual animal" is a dog.

The American Hustle star whips herself into a frenzy of eager anticipation when she meets new people on sets just like a puppy.

She said: "When I was younger, I was just so hyper and friendly to everybody. And still now, when I come on set, I'm like a golden retriever at a dog park, because I'm just so happy to be around people and eager to please."

Despite being nominated for five Oscars, the 40-year-old star claims she was fired from Grosse Pointe in 2000 because she "probably sucked".

She said: "There was a TV show called Grosse Pointe that I was fired from. I probably sucked. I never got a straight answer. It was my second year in LA, and I got hired for two pilots and got fired from both of them. The produced called me and said, 'It's not working'.

"And I was like, I know, I could tell."

The Fighter star says was a "mess" when she first moved to Hollywood from Minnesota when she was 24 and almost quit acting as a result of the "pressure".

She told Britain's Vogue magazine: "I was able to do everything from day player to guest star to small parts in movies, and it really, to this day, give me perspective, but going through it was painful, to say the least. I felt a lot of pressure, but I just wasn't able to get there in the audition room. Or even in meetings.

"My squirreliness would come out and people wouldn't feel confident. I've always been someone who had, like, a spirit of perseverance, but I actually almost quit because I was starting to not like who I was.

"My lawyer called me up after I was fired from the two shows and said, 'Just to even get two shows in pilot season is amazing. So you're doing something right.' I thank him all the time for that call."