Cobie Smulders
I went to a cleansing retreat in the desert where I didn't eat for eight days and experienced hunger-driven hallucinations.
I had tumors on both ovaries, and the cancer had spread into my lymph nodes and surrounding tissues.
I don't think I'll ever feel like I'm cancer-free.
Anytime anybody jumps out at me, I scream.
I would love to do another 'Jack Reacher' movie.
People always let me know when their team beats the Canucks.
I saw 'Starbuck' before I ever knew I would be involved in 'Delivery Man,' but I liked it, and then a couple of months went by, and I really knew I wanted to audition for it when it became available.
I like to challenge myself and grow as an actress.
One of the major complaints for long-running shows is that they become mundane.
I keep fooling people into giving me jobs, and now I'm on Broadway. It's always something I've wanted to be a part of, and I can't believe that this is the experience I'm having.
I had a daily 30 minute pushup routine. Then I boxed 3 times a week for about an hour. And then, I had the trainer come to my house an average of 1 to 2 times a week.
I have a very flexible and easy schedule that affords me a wonderful lifestyle in Los Angeles. I'm able to be a very present mother, able to pursue other projects.
The quality of television is becoming so good from an actor standpoint, where you get to do these amazing scenes with amazing directors and cinematography.
I'd love to shoot something in Toronto; I'd love to bring something to Canada. I'm dying to shoot something in Vancouver where I'm from.
Joss Whedon is the best man on the planet.
I think everybody feels their pregnancy differently, and for me, I was so in work mode.
We have very strict rules about TV and film in my house.
For some reason, when I think feminism, I think, like, 'Well, you can't include men if you're talking about feminism and being a feminist,' so I get a little bit muddled. I find it to be a bit grey. Then if you say you are not a feminist, that means that you're not pro-woman!
I played football for 12 years, but I would always trick myself into exercise, like by taking a dance class.
I remember taking a self-defence class when I was 16, and of course I don't remember any of it.
I felt very patriotic playing a New York City cop.
The Marvel world is a pure joy to be a part of.
The great thing about being on a series for nine years is you get to see the characters grow and change.
When you're doing a movie, it's finite - you have a trajectory of where your character's going, and you follow that. Then the storybook closes.
I think to be a good model, you have to enjoy having your picture taken, and I never really did.
I still don't find myself a very confident person about my looks or my body.
I would drive down in my Volkswagen Jetta to Los Angeles and just audition, audition, audition, audition, and hopefully get something. I did that for two years, and the third year I came down, I auditioned for 'How I Met Your Mother.'
Just when your ovaries should be brimming with youthful follicles, cancerous cells overtook mine, threatening to end my fertility and potentially my life.
Thankfully, gratefully, cancer did not get the best of me.
The best of me now lives on in my two little women, baby girls I was lucky enough to be able to make with my own body.
I just feel honored to play Wonder Woman in some incarnation. She's got such history, and she's, like, the first female superhero.
I feel like starring in a TV show is such a fun thing.
I've been doing 'How I Met Your Mother' for so long, and it's been so great, and I just feel like it's second nature at this point.
I wish that we, as women, spent as much time on the well-being of our insides as we do with our looks on the outside.
Joss Whedon, he is really hands-on, and he wants every character to have a life on and off screen.
Since my article in 'Women's Health' came out, I have had so many conversations with women about their own battles with cancer, and it feels so empowering to open up this dialogue and learn from each other.
I got really into SoulCycle for a bit.
I love working out.
I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to designers, but I love going to fashion shows just to see the other personalities that show up. It's such an eclectic group, and everybody is sort of like an artist.
I'm very simplistic. I like jewelry that is small, that is a statement piece but with a delicate statement.
I usually wear a lot of really thin gold bands and small studs. Nothing too big.
I think it's really important to get in early and for women to do mammograms, to do screenings, to do all these things that aren't always necessarily covered by Medicare, by insurances, and to really start working to get those more available for people.
I actually kind of prefer working with an ensemble. It's just cool to be surrounded by such great people.
When you're driving Tom Cruise around, and he's literally a race car driver, and you're supposed to be driving like you really know what you're doing... It's quite intimidating.
'The Avengers' happened because I'm friends with Joss Whedon, and he sort of brought me into the mix when they were looking for Maria Hill.
Going to the Comic Cons and meeting people - that's a fun energy to be around.
The experience of pregnancy - it depends on your situation, but it can be quite isolating.
I studied acting throughout high school, then modelling took over because it brought more opportunity. When I quit modelling, coming back to Vancouver, I registered at the University of Victoria.
My plan is to stay in New York for as long as I can and do some theater out here and just keep working creatively.