Eric Christian Olsen

“When I was in the gunner's bubble of a B25 bomber, taking off from an aircraft carrier 100 miles off the coast of San Diego, I remember saying to myself how amazing it was to get the chance to do that.”

“I was doing auditions and meetings during the day and going to culinary school at night. And then 'NCIS' happened. So I dropped out of culinary school.”

“I played 15 years of hockey, and I got more injured doing two weeks of cheer camp.”

“I grew up in Iowa, and the improv comedy club Comedy-Sportz across the river in Illinois held auditions. They took me even though I was only 16 - you really had to be 18, but they never checked me for ID.”

“You pursue what you love, and if you find beauty or truth, you go with that.”

“At culinary school, none of the things we use to define ourselves outside that world - actor, producer, student - none of that matters. It's a magical art form.”

“I'm 100% Norwegian. Three generations removed and all continuous inbreeding of Norwegian of Minnesota and Iowa, so I traveled to Norway before.”

“I was at Pepperdine University in Malibu, and during my sophomore year, I played a dying burn victim on 'ER.' The makeup artist put burn makeup all over my body and I couldn't move or eat for 12 hours. I lost 8 pounds that week.”