The main thing I do now is I coach kids, and all of these stories along the way are based in reality.

And I think they loved me because I loved being part of their team, you know, and I quite often say to kids, that I was the worst player in the world's best football team - and that was good enough for me.

So I did in fact spend two and a half years in the Middlesbrough car park practising skills. But if you spend four or five or six hours a day practising, you get better.

We were having a trial game against Leeds, and Jack Charlton was the boss of Middlesbrough at the time.

I'm proud to be an actor. See, as an actor, you live longer. Football players, the brain and all that stuff, ooh-eee, that's not good.

I think for every young player of my age, they have to go out on loan. I know there's an U21 league and the Europa League for the youth teams, but it's not the same as playing men's football, when there's a lot more riding on it.

I could have played water polo in high school instead of football. I would have gone to Stanford like my other buddies from Irvine who played water polo and ended up going to Stanford, you know.

When I'm playing football, it's what I know; it's what I'm good at. The spotlight is not just on you: you're with 10 of your team-mates. I could have done other sports, like tennis and athletics, but I like being part of a team where it's not just about you; it's about everybody.