Out of Captivity, Elisha Cuthbert Is Ready for More 24

• Jul 12, 2007 04:00 AM ET
• by Matt Webb Mitovich

Maybe Kim Bauer didn't have it so rough after all. In the new horror flick Captivity (hitting theaters this Friday the 13th), 24 alumna Elisha Cuthbert stars as Jennifer, a cover girl and America's sweetheart. The beauty meets a beast, though, when Jennifer is drugged, abducted and held captive in a cell, where she is subjected to a series of terrifying tortures born of a sadistic mind. So perverse is her peril that the promotional posters for Captivity came under fire a few months back and even jeopardized the film's fate. TVGuide.com stole a few minutes with Cuthbert at a Times Square Planet Hollywood hands-in-cement ceremony to ask about her film's date with scandal, and a possible return for Jack Bauer's daughter.

TVGuide.com: You were one of my first interviews for TVGuide.com, so we have sort of come full circle here.
Elisha Cuthbert: Oh, cool! Nice!

TVGuide.com: Does a person even bother to get a manicure before placing her hands in cement?
Cuthbert: Yeah, of course! [Waves fingertips proudly] Definitely! [Laughs] It was actually a lot warmer than I thought, so that was crazy.

TVGuide.com: Is it intense shooting a movie like Captivity? Is this the kind of movie you'd go see?
Cuthbert: It is, it is intense. The genre is amazing to film and there are so many great special effects that go into it. But I've done it before [in 2005's House of Wax], so I guess I'm used to it.

TVGuide.com: There was that whole hubbub surrounding Captivity's ad campaign. What did you think of that?
Cuthbert: There are a lot of films out, like [the] Saw and Hostel [franchises], which have sort of raised the bar as far as the horror genre goes, so I was a little shocked. But I'm excited for people to see our film. That's the real excitement of doing it, really.

TVGuide.com: There have been some articles lately on whether "torture porn" is on the way out....
Cuthbert: Yeah. The best thing that we can focus on is that 30 million people are writing about it and talking about it on the Internet. That's the sort of good controversy that goes along with a horror film.

TVGuide.com: You know, I loved you last year in that Martin Donovan indie, The Quiet.
Cuthbert: Oh, thank you so much! I've got another indie film that's somewhat similar, in that it's a smaller film, with Christian Slater and William H. Macy. It's called He Was a Quiet Man, so look for it. It's really great!

TVGuide.com: The new season of 24 is supposed to be CTU-free. Do you think that might open the door for a new visit from Kim?
Cuthbert: I'll be waiting by the phone, I'm ready whenever they are. I love the show so much!

Use our Online Video Guide to watch some clips of Elisha Cuthbert in action.

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Send your comments on this Q&A to online_insider@tvguide.com.