Vancouver is an amazing city and luckily, growing up in the Seattle area, I was able to immerse myself into the culture at a young age, traveling back and forth across the border for skating competitions as a youngster.

It is not up to me whether I win or lose. Ultimately, this might not be my day. And it is that philosophy towards sports, something that I really truly live by. I am emotional. I want to win. I am hungry. I am a competitor. I have that fire. But deep down, I truly enjoy the art of competing so much more than the result.

I wanted to play football or be a boxer, but my dad didn't want that because of all the impact. But in 1992 I was watching short track, and it was obscure, but they looked like superheroes in their tight outfits, and I thought it was amazing. I wanted to do that. I made the national team at 14.

I have a scar on my left thigh, kind of almost near my knee. I essentially fell in the 2002 Olympics and when I hit the wall - because of the impact - my right leg kind of came in at like a knife-type angle and stabbed my leg with my own skate blade.

Nothing compares to Rome. Nothing. People there are crazy about football - in a positive way.

Actors normally go to the gym to achieve a certain kind of fitness for a role but when you start playing a sport, then you realise that being athletically fit is a very different kind of fitness.

Adidas is one of the biggest companies in the world. To have a company like that, a mainstream company, a major sports company, to say they want me, it's awesome.

Football helped me build confidence on and off the field and taught me to grow through moments of success and disappointment.