You can change your fate. You can sit back, or you can go after your life and all that you want it to be.

The truth is, after Boys Don't Cry, I realized how few and far between the great roles are. I am beyond thankful for finding Million Dollar Baby.

It's something that you have to experience in your life, but I think my first kiss, I was 7 and it was really yucky.

New Yorkers have this special spot in Central Park, where they do this 5K run, the minute the clock strikes twelve. I ran once, and I'll never do that again, either. But, it's awesome to watch those people run. It's such a great environment and place to be.

I am a competitive person with myself. I always find new goals to achieve, new challenges to breakthrough, and I try and do something new every day. And I'm highly competitive with myself.

I really chase the things that I want.

When I was a swimmer and I would lose a heat in something I was doing whether it backstroke or breaststroke, were two of my most strongest strokes, I would look at how whoever it was that won and beat me and think, "What did they do? What were... What were the qualities that they had that I can incorporate into my swimming to make me better?"