Transcript for Elisha on the Rosie O'Donnell show. (aired 25 February, 2002)

Rosie: Hi Elisha! How are you?

Elisha: I am so I excited, I made everyone move over, and I feel very proud.

...

Rosie: How old are you honey?

Elisha: 19

Rosie: I tell you what I have a tape of the first episode and I am saving it until my 4 year old daughter turns 16. This is the scariest movie for any Mom.

Elisha: Even for my mom. I am from Canada and came down to L.A. And she (her Mom) watches her on TV and thinks that is what I actually do in L.A.. She phones me every Tuesday saying what are you doing what are you crazy?

Rosie: It must be a pretty scary role for a young girl like you?

Elisha: Ya, it is. But it's not like me in real life. I was very driven and now I have my chance to have fun and all that stuff.

Rosie: Now that will be even better to tell my daughter " This girl not only had a horrible horrible life but in reality this girl studied hard and was a straight "A" student"

Rosie: What were your grades?

Elisha: They were very good, but I think it works differently in the states but they were up there (her marks)

Rosie: Were you proud of all your Olympians the Olympics?

Elisha: You know that Jamie is one of my friends.

Rosie: So you know Jamie Sale and David Pelltia?

Elisha: Well not David, but Jamie is one of my friends

Rosie:  How do you know her?

Elisha: Well one of my friends in High School was a figure skater, and we were kind of partying and I was too afraid to call my mother, so I asked for a ride home and Jamie ( who was at the party) said "sure I will give you a ride home". So since then we close and talking and stuff. I am just so proud of her.

Rosie: I was so happy when they were both given the gold, but I still think they were robbed, they should have gotten it then

Elisha: Ya, but they were such great sports, they couldn't have handled it any better. It was just such great Olympic sport

Rosie: Ya, I would have been like get out of the way you cheating Russians.

Elisha: Ya they could have done that, but they didn't, which was great

Rosie: So what did you do before the show (24)?

Elisha: I was doing a lot of stuff up in Canada, there was one show called Popular Mechanics for Kids which was the like 8th most educational kids show. So you can tell your daughter that. That I was so driven I was doing educational stuff.

Rosie: Your Mom tried to FedEx some pictures of you as a foot model, oh did they just come in, that is too freaky

Elisha: That's too weird

Rosie: *holds up a piece of paper with a couple of pictures on it*, so how do you know these are your feet, do you remember doing it

Elisha: Ya

Rosie: Did you get to keep these little doggy slippers *in the picture* 

Elisha: No, but I ate all those cookies *in the pictures*

Rosie: Great that's what I want to hear Elisha

Rosie: So how sweet is it that your Mom, that she would send these *pictures* along

Elisha: You have no idea how excited my Mom is that I got on Rosie, she was like "please if you do anything get on Rosie"

Rosie: That's nice. What's her name?

Elisha: Pat. "Hi Mom"

Rosie: * looks at camera* Hi Pat. Its your daughter, Thanks for the FedEx, *Screams*

Elisha: She's probably crying right now

Rosie: Did you know your one of the sexiest women in the world, your number 57 *pulls out a magazine*

Elisha: That's like Heinz Ketchup. I thought that was so cool, I was like Mom, I am number 57 that's Heinz Ketchup

Rosie: I don't want you posing like that anymore

Elisha: *sheepish grin* I know. I know.

Rosie: Look at me. Look at me. I can be your mother. No more in your underwear like that. Looking poutie. *the magazine shows a picture of her from Maxim.*

Elisha: I know. I know. I promise.

Rosie: You're a young girl 

Elisha: I know.

Rosie: Alright then, just get that out now.

Rosie: The show is Twenty Four , it's on Tuesdays on Fox. It's a great show, I hope Fox renews it next season. You should all be proud.

Interview from http://www.teenmag.com/starstuff/watchthisface/Elisha_Cuthbert_3.shtml 
Thanks to Dan for sending me this.

Taking Some Time with Elisha

Last fall when the slew of new TV shows debuted, people couldn't stop talking about FOX's ground-breaking drama 24. Now, halfway through its first season, the certifiable nail-biter--which takes place over 24 hours in one day, one hour per episode--has won a strong following and continues to wow critics and viewers alike with its original format and pace.

Fans are familiar with nineteen-year-old actress Elisha Cuthbert who plays Kimberly Bauer, the teenage daughter of CIA agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). In the first episode, Kimberly got herself kidnapped by some super-unsavory characters and set one of the major plots in motion.

Born in Calgary and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Elisha has been acting since she was a kid, appearing on Canadian kids shows like Popular Mechanics for Kids and Are You Afraid of the Dark? Last year, she decided to try her luck in Los Angeles and things have been going well for her ever since. So well in fact that, very soon, she'll begin work on the film Old School, a comedy starring big-name stars like Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Juliette Lewis. Surely this is only the beginning of a long and bright career for Elisha.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to her about the unique aspects of 24, getting ready for her first Hollywood flick and her Canadian roots...

Teenmag.com: There's quite a Canadian contingent in Hollywood these days, huh? I was just talking to Andrew Walker (of Maybe It's Me), and he mentioned you guys came out to Hollywood together with a whole group of young Canadians.
Elisha: Oh, I love Andrew! Andrew Walker is a very good friend of mine. We kind of grew up in the whole acting bug circle together.

Teenmag.com: Do you hang out with many Canadians in Los Angeles these days?
Elisha: I do. Especially during pilot season. A lot of them come down and kind of hang out, and we all kind of do that together. It's kind of cool, because we're away from home, but friends from home are here. You kind of get the best of both.

Teenmag.com: Do you miss home?
Elisha: Um no, not really. I mean, I miss my family, but I'm working so I'm really in a happy place right now. I've got a lot of stuff going on, so there's really no time to be homesick.

Teenmag.com: So, what prompted your move to L.A, and how did you land the role on 24?
Elisha: Well, I was planning on coming out to Los Angeles. It was one of those things where I was like, 'Ok, I think I'm ready to go down and audition and do that whole crazy circus.' But it turned out, before I even got here, Fox was really interested in some of the work I had done in Canada. They were really interested in getting me on one of their shows, which made my experience a whole lot easier. So I kinda came down for Fox and ended up reading 24 and liking it a lot. I went in [to read for the part on 24], and I thought I did horrible in the audition. But it turns out I guess I did OK. [Laughs].

Teenmag.com: The show is really great, and in recent episodes it seems like your character is getting tougher....
Elisha: Yeah, it's kinda cool because the story line for my character kinda gets a little bit stronger, as you can see, because of the stuff that she's going through. She kind of has this great ability to try to at least adapt to what's going on and get through it as best as possible. That's nice because I like playing a strong character, especially when it comes to being a woman.

Teenmag.com: Is it really interesting getting the script each week and finding out what's going to happen?
Elisha: Yeah, there's this really great quality that our show has; it has this ability to kind of shock us every single time we read a new script. It's so strange how they can just pull these things. You're going, 'Oh my god. That person's bad!' Or, 'I can't believe this is happening!' You know you have a good writing staff when you read scripts and you know you couldn't have thought of it yourself, you know? So we're constantly being shocked and impressed by the story lines, which is basically, when it boils down to it, wonderful writing.

Teenmag.com: So you don't have any idea what's going to happen to your character in episode 18 or 20?
Elisha: No, no we don't really get to find that out. I kind of like it that way too. I like the idea that we don't get to know, because if we did know it could effect the judgement of the acting right now and where we're at in time. I mean, time is a huge issue with our show. That's basically the whole premise, having 24 hours. If I knew what was happening in the twenty-fourth hour, it could change my reactions to what's happening at six or seven or eight or nine.

Teenmag.com: Do you have to adjust your acting because of the time limit aspect of the show?
Elisha: Actually, it's been quite easy in that aspect. I was kind of a little afraid that we'd have the stopwatch going while we're shooting, but really, the genius behind it all is the editing. We go in and we pull together these scenes, and basically the editors take them and work magic. When it comes to the timing of it, I think all the credit goes to the editors. I'm always amazed by their ability to keep it all in time. It's really them.

Teenmag.com: So you don't have to do anything differently?
Elisha: I think acting-wise it really affects the way you react to certain things, because you only have a limited amount of time. You really have to show the audience in an hour all these different emotions. You can't let one emotion go, because it's all on the clock. It gives actors this great ability to make sure that the audience sees exactly what they're going through, minute by minute.

Teenmag.com: Do you work on 24 every day?
Elisha: I wouldn't say every day. I have a pretty good schedule. It changes quite often, and we never really have the same sort of schedule, because it's not like a show that we film in front of an audience. It's like we're shooting a movie. So we've got days here and there. But it's going really well. It gives me the freedom to do other things, which is always great.

Teenmag.com: And now you're going to start shooting Old School, right?
Elisha: I start on Monday.

Teenmag.com: What's your character like, and what's the movie about?
Elisha: I don't have an enormous part in it, but it's a really, really funny comedy. I basically play a girl in school, and I kind of intertwine with and make problems for the lead, who is Luke Wilson. I kind of get him into a little bit of trouble. It's fun. I'm really excited to do it because it's gonna be fun to shoot, and it's a comedy. For the past six months I've been focusing on this really tough drama, you know? So the movie has given me this, 'Whew, finally, I'm laughing.' I'm not being kidnapped, and all that crazy stuff. I'm goofing off and having a good time.

Teenmag.com: So what about the future? Do you know what's going to happen with 24?
Elisha: Um, I'm not 100% sure of what the situation is for next season. We haven't been told, but I really tend not to really think about it so much -- I'm just taking things one step at a time and just appreciating what's going on now.
That sounds like a good attitude, and Elisha sure does have a lot to appreciate. Be sure to check her out on 24--Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. EST/PST on Fox--as she tries to escape those evil kidnapper dudes.