Elizabeth Reaser "Breaks" Down The Ex List

The last time we saw Elizabeth Reaser, she was having a nervous breakdown on Grey's Anatomy, which had been preceded by a disfiguring accident, a bout of amnesia, facial reconstruction and, finally, a love affair gone awry. This season, she's left the Debbie Downer role behind to star in her own series, The Ex List, as a woman who's told by a psychic that if she doesn't marry within a year, she never will. Reaser gives us the lowdown. - David A. Keeps
TV Guide: Your character, Bella, is in a race to the altar. Do you have a matrimonial timetable?
Elizabeth Reaser: My older sister is married and that took a lot of pressure off me. She had the greatest wedding of all time, the three most beautiful children of all time, and her husband is the greatest brother-in-law you could ever ask for. So I'm covered; I can go be a crazy-actress diva.
TV Guide: Your role on Grey's Anatomy was pretty heavy. Is it fun to finally lighten up?
Reaser: [ Nods] Because I'm always being tragic, anything where they're making a buffoon out of me, I love. The more buffoonery, the better!
TV Guide: Your character in The Ex List is told she's already met her intended, so she starts looking up her old lovers. Have you ever done that?
Reaser: I have, yeah, and they rejected me. So I have plenty to draw on. I remember my first breakup. I was 14 and devastated. I got dumped. And it doesn't get any better. The only difference is that when you're 14, you think you're never going to get over it.
TV Guide: Does Bella have a type?
Reaser: I think they're all over the place. That's what's cool about Bella. She has no type. In Mythological Ex, the Israeli series this is based on, there's even a woman, and it's a totally hot story line. I went to drama school, so there was a lot of that. Girls experiment all the time.
TV Guide: What actors are on your wish list for playing some of the exes?
Reaser: I don't think he's available, but I'd love to work with Justin Chambers again. [ Laughs] And I hear Patrick Dempsey is really hard up for work these days, so if he wants to call me, we can talk about it!
TV Guide: Your character spends a lot of time half-dressed. Did you have to work out a lot to get that amazing body?
Reaser: I've always been active and athletic, but, yeah, I had to step up the yoga, Pilates and swimming. When I found out that I was going to be in bikinis, I pumped it up. It definitely keeps you mindful of what you put in your mouth!