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I do like athletes as they have amazing self-discipline.

I have great admiration for athletes. They are just like actors in a lot of ways. They have tremendous pressures and conflicts. They have to compete, and they can't stay home just because they have a head cold.

I like to push characters to extremes so they have to make really tough decisions and there is no life more extreme than that of an athlete.

I would say that one of the hardest things for an athlete, and really anybody of any profession, is that we create our identity in what we do.

Athletes these days are too robotic. People like to see performances filled with emotion. In my career I tried to be amusing, to differentiate myself from the other champions.

I have so much respect for athletes like LeBron James. I get motivation from them because I know how many hours they put into it. It takes a lot of hard work and drive.

To me, when people say, 'Oh, you're a freak athlete,' it's bittersweet. It's a huge compliment to say, 'O.K., you have physical abilities that are kind of above and beyond.' But at the same time, I feel like it diminishes the mental side of the game.

I think the athletes respond well to me because I have been successful.

I've met and sketched most of the great athletes from the past five decades and their movement, grace and energy have kept me captivated over the years. That's what the ancient Greeks first saw and that's what caught my interest.