Coming from New Zealand and Australia is like a tough pre-school for Hollywood. And having been on 'Neighbours,' even though the agents I met with hadn't seen it, they knew it's where Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce had come from. It was a foot in the door.

I guess I did get to tick a big one off the bucket list, though, and that was being on a giant billboard smack-bang in the hub of Hollywood Boulevard. That was... well, pretty Hollywood.

I was shooting a mini-series for Sundance/BBC, called 'Top of the Lake,' that was shot by Jane Campion, who's a beautiful native New Zealander and famous film director. The role I was playing was very intense, and they shaved half my hair off. So, I looked like this post-apocalyptic character.

Having glue stuck to your face in winter is not fun. It freezes as it hits the skin.

With 'Love And Basketball,' every studio turned it down.

I love Halloween, trick or treating and decorating the house. And I love Thanksgiving, because of the football and the fall weather. And of course, I love Christmas - that's my favorite of all!

I will say that rowing in the first Olympics was probably one of the most proud moments in my life. What I enjoy about the sport is that it's definitive. Nobody can take away from the fact that you're an Olympian. It's indisputable. You get there on merit and merit alone.

Women's sport is genuine, it's pure and it's raw... we don't do it for the money.