My parents wanted me to be a doctor, and they weren't very happy at the idea of me choosing acting as a career. Everyone in my family went to university - my older brother is a lawyer - but when they saw me for the first time at the theatre, they thought, 'OK.' They like it very much now.

I don't go back home to Sardinia as much as I would like, just for Christmas and family events.

It was in England that I discovered theatre. I didn't have any money, but I would just eat yoghurt in order to get some money for tickets.

Modelling was not very satisfying for me. I came to London to model, and I fell in love with the theatre. I was eating yoghurt every day so that I had the money to go to the theatre. I saw everything. It's still my dream to be on stage in London.

When I was a youngster, my dream was to play in the first team. I was constantly thinking, ‘Will I make a career in football? Am I going to have to go out and get a job?'"

I think God has it written down for me, that without training and working hard you will never achieve desired results. All three times I have had to toil my way into the Olympics. Talking about pressure, well that is something you have to learn to deal with in sports.

I never thought of what I was doing as a way to sell the NFL. I was making movies about a sport that I loved, about players and coaches that I respected. I wanted to convey my love of the game through film. And most artists convey their love through art. And my art and my love was expressed through film.

Tom Brady is Tom Brady. He was a sixth-round draft pick. A lot of people passed up on him. He's a Super Bowl Champion, Super Bowl MVP. He's been in a bunch of Super Bowls, and he could care less about all of that. He just cares about winning the next game.