When Allison Janney watched Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan compete in the 1994 Olympics — along with 126 million others — she had no idea that she’d eventually earn her first Oscar buzz for playing Harding’s mother. Most of those viewers tuned in because weeks prior, Harding’s ex-husband and bodyguard arranged for an attacker to club Kerrigan’s knee with a police baton. But for Janney, it was personal: few know that she was once a serious figure skater herself, sidelined from the sport by a freak accident that occurred when her parents hosted a party.

“There was a game where couples had balloons tied around their ankles and you tried to pop the other couples’ balloons,” said Janney, who portrays Lavona Golden in Craig Gillespie’s “I, Tonya.” “I was cheating, and had my balloon tied around my knee, because I had a strapless long dress on. Cheaters never prosper!