Meet Lesley Paterson, an Oscar Nominee Who's Also a Champion Triathlete: Inside Her Incredible Story

John Seggestta

Lesley Paterson has never been one to back down from a challenge.

She fought her way from being the only girl on her rugby team as a child to a professional triathlete. She trudged on for 16 years when all she heard were no's after she got the rights to All Quiet on the Western Front. Now, she is a five-time triathlon world champion and an Oscar-nominee — and she is ready for the next challenge.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Paterson, 42, shares her story as going from the youngest sibling of four growing up in rural Scotland to becoming the Oscar nominee and athletic trailblazer she is today.

"I was brought up as No. 4 in a family, a Scottish family, and it's very much crack on and get it done," Paterson tells PEOPLE. "If you don't keep up, you're out the back, which gives you a lot of resilience. And then there's something inside of me that's always loved a challenge. If something looks difficult and nobody else is doing it, I want to do it."

She adds how she finds "a lot of meaning in pain and suffering," and was always a fighter. As soon as she could, Paterson started playing rugby: "I was the only girl in the whole of Scotland that was playing." Though the young boys would "point and giggle" at her, Paterson says she kept trudging on — adopting a "f--- you attitude" even then.

RELATED: Everything to Know About All Quiet on the Western Front, the German Film with 9 Oscar Nominations

Gareth Cattermole/BAFTA/Getty for BAFTA)

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From there she pivoted to competing in triathlons, where she cycled with the local bike club consisting of all older men who were plumbers, builders, welders and the like. Again, Paterson was the underdog.

"I just have always gone into any situation thinking, think of me what you will. I'm just going to prove to you that I can do this," Paterson says. "Whether you're a man, a woman, I'm a woman, I don't care. My parents really helped with that. They were very much get on and do it, don't moan, just kind of crack on."

Her professional career developed from there, leading her to compete in over 100 races, including international championships and the Ironman race.

While she was pursuing her athletic career, Paterson was also simultaneously following her creative passions, earning her master's degree in film and theater after moving to the U.S. with her husband in 2002.

After an unsuccessful attempt at acting ("I discovered I wasn't very good at it"), Paterson moved into the screenwriting and producing field. It was then that she teamed up with friend and co-screenwriter Ian Stokell and the two read the war novel All Quiet on the Western Front, ultimately deciding to pursue the rights, which were available, to their surprise.

"When we started out, of course we were sort of no-name writers, and we had a dream once we read the novel because we both connected to it at different levels," Paterson says. "My husband and I had to scrape together our savings to pay for this option and a lawyer to do the contracts, and that was it. We were kind of off and running."

Reiner Bajo / Netflix

However, the blind thrill of getting the rights to a classic soon wore off when Paterson realized the difficulties of getting someone to pick up her script. What ensued were 16 years of research, brainstorming, restarting from scratch, pitching and endless rejections.

Her journey included rotating between different casts, directors and producers — one of which went to prison, leading them to look again. Paterson said maintaining the option cost $10,000 to $15,000 a year, something that was "very hard for an everyday person."

To continue her funding, Paterson kept competing, adding the need to fund her film as motivation to win the prize money. It came to the point where before a race in Costa Rica, Paterson desperately needed the prize or she could no longer afford the option. But the day before the race, she broke her shoulder.

After checking with a doctor, Paterson decided to race anyway with just one arm. She came in dead last after the swimming portion, biked her way to the middle of the pack, then ran all the way to first place, despite the "faint-worthy" pain.

"It was an absolute microcosm of the entire journey in a way," Paterson admits. "What are you going to do to just make it happen?"

Mike Marsland/WireImage

In 2005, Paterson worked as a server for Wolfgang Puck who catered the Governor's Ball. On Sunday, she will walk into the Academy Awards again, but this time, as a nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay — just one of the film's nine nominations.

"It's just a total vindication that hard work and stick-to-itiveness and following, you have to really follow your why," Paterson says. "Why are you doing this? Why is it important? I've lost sight of that along the way here and there."

She adds, "But ultimately, and I've learned this very much through sport and I've applied it to my art, it's mastery of craft. That's what brings me most joy."

Paterson shared her excitement on attending the show Sunday night, with a custom-made gown and a hair and makeup team ready to prepare her for Hollywood's biggest night.

But for Paterson, winning the award — though it would be the cherry on top — is not an indicator of her success. "It was never going to be a failure for me, even if we didn't get the film off the ground, because of what we learned along the way and what it forced us to do. That was how I reconciled it," she says.

As a coach for endurance athletes, Paterson always stresses the importance of self-resilience and continuing to push on — something she learned from both her sports and creative careers.

"I think the [biggest challenge was] negativity of others always saying, 'This is never going to happen, no, no, no,' and rising above that and staying true to yourself," Paterson says. "If you do have a dream, go for it. But you've got to work hard. You've got to create your own resiliency."

All Quiet on the Western Front is now streaming on Netflix.