Cobie Smulders

I like to challenge myself. Whether that's on television or film or on stage, that's what I'm going to go for.

I seek out things that terrify me, like an improv class. I'm terrified of sharks, but I scuba dive. I'm not good at auditioning, but I force myself to do it all the time. I've never met anybody who is fearless, but the more you push against your own boundaries, the easier it becomes to push.

When I got the script for 'Winter Soldier,' I was so excited to see that my character finally gets to punch somebody! So I took tae kwon do three times a week. I wanted to feel like I could hold my own in a roomful of superheroes.

We're lucky to live in a country where we have freedom of speech, and I don't know what the other Avengers are up to, personally, but I know they're all really good people.

I'm pretty money savvy. My dad made me read 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' when I was 12 - this investing book about how to manage your money and be smart. So I'm kind of like a grandmother.

A stay-at-home mom is a working mom. Being a stay-at-home mom is a job.

I do Pilates because it's important for me to have a healthy back when I'm 70 so I'm not hunched over and in pain. That's more important to me than being thin.

Sometimes I feel like women of the world who are single moms and are working in Walmart are the strongest women out there, and that's what's really exciting to me is being all these different types of women.

I have so many single girlfriends who fit themselves into the mold of what they think a guy's looking for. But being comfortable around men is about being comfortable with yourself. They gravitate toward confidence. Really, that is what they want to be around.

Going to the Comic Cons and meeting people - that's a fun energy to be around.

I actually kind of prefer working with an ensemble. It's just cool to be surrounded by such great people.

I usually wear a lot of really thin gold bands and small studs. Nothing too big.