United Kingdom, Aug. 14 -- Alicia Silverstone is determined to "make the world a better place".

The 48-year-old star has dealt with lots of ups and downs in her acting career, but Alicia feels that her animal rights and environmental activism has helped her to develop a healthy sense of perspective.

She told Entertainment Weekly: "We're all humans, so obviously there are things that can hurt your feelings here and there, but I really just got into activism and my desire to make the world a better place."

Alicia admits that her outside interests have helped her to cope with career setbacks.

She said: "I think that gave me something else to think about. I guess if [acting] was all I had, then perhaps I might be a bit more devastated." ...