I was always interested in it when I was younger, but it was when I was at university, getting together with other like-minded theatrically inclined types, that I admitted to myself that I wanted to be an actor.
I remember my late father, who was the biggest football fan I have ever known, used to stress when I was younger that, win or lose, you always have to compete with honor.
I looked around and saw my competitors: they're all doing these quads, and at the same time, they're a head shorter than me, they're 10 years younger than me, and they're the size of one of my legs.
When I was younger and did a stand-up gig, it would take me two weeks to recover. Sometimes I'd get so panicked that I would stutter.
My brother really shaped my musical taste when I was younger. He turned me on to classic rock like Led Zeppelin, and then he got me into R.E.M. and U2.
There was a long period when I was younger where people always talked about my size and I was going 'but look, I can play, though, I can play' but you look at it, to have a career, 12-13 years, you've got to be more than just a brute.
In my younger days, sometimes family and personal life came second to my ambition.
I do think there is a responsibility for myself as being a senior professional footballer to be able to pass on my experiences to the younger generation.
Nothing so dates a man as to decry the younger generation.
If we all understood we can learn from both older and younger people, then we'd have a better world.
