“The sport is called artistic gymnastics. So you do have to be a little bit of an actress.”

You can have fun and do well. Just let loose a bit.

You can still be very good at what you do and have fun.

We strive for greatness.

As a kid growing up, I was never like, ‘I want to go to the Olympics,’ so having to pass on 2012 because I was too young didn’t bother me at all.

I always say my biggest competitor is myself because, whenever I step out there on the mat, I’m competing against myself to prove that I can do this and that I am very well trained, prepared for it.

In the morning, I usually get up between 7:40 A.M. and 7:45 A.M., and then I’ll brush my teeth, do my hair, and just throw on my leotard and my clothes and go to the kitchen.

My mom, Nellie, got me a rosary at church. I don’t use it to pray before a competition. I’ll just pray normally to myself, but I have it there in case.

Most athletes get intimidated once they see how many fans are out there, but it almost calms me down in a way because I think of it as a fun way to show off what I’ve been working on.

I guess I just have really tough skin.

I started gymnastics when I was six years old. I was at day care, and they took us on a field trip to a gym club, Bannon’s Gymnastix in Houston, and that’s how I got started.

I’m the first Simone Biles.

One of my favourite things to do is compete for a crowd. It’s just really fun for me.

It doesn’t even matter if I don’t win a self-gold – after every meet, I have pizza. Pepperoni pizza.

I don’t fear what will happen, but you just get ahead of yourself, like, ‘Oh my gosh, I wish it would happen now.’

Father served in the Air Force for 22 years.

I was built this way for a reason, so I’m going to use it.

After a point, it doesn’t matter where you come from. There are many star kids who haven’t done well in the industry and rank newcomers who have done amazingly well.

If two actors have an equal creative give and take between them, it translates beautifully on the screen.

If two actors have an equal creative give and take between them, it translates beautifully on the screen.

Paris is the playwright’s delight. New York is the home of directors. London, however, is the actor’s city, the only one in the world. In London, actors are given their head.

Having secured my Indian actors, I started for Baltimore, where I organized my combination, and which was the largest troupe I had yet had on the road.

It’s a political and manipulative industry. Actors vie for the same roles, movies are snatched away. Have I ever been manipulated? Yes. But I haven’t manipulated anyone because if you think from the heart, you cannot be calculative. I have spent nights crying.

I can’t stand on the roadside and have Pani Puri like before. But, at the same time, being an actor makes you feel special. People look up to you, want to know more about you, and shower you with so much love without even knowing you personally. It’s overwhelming.

Frankly I’ve never really subscribed to these adjectives tagging me as an ‘icon’, ‘superstar’, etc. I’ve always thought of myself as an actor doing his job to the best of his ability.