Roseanne Star's Shocking Transformation

Former Roseanne spitfire Sara Gilbert has not soured on TV — despite making a failed comeback attempt last year on CBS's short-lived clunker Welcome to New York. In fact, the sister of Little House on the Prairie's Melissa Gilbert says that if anything, her passion for the small screen has intensified of late.

"I think I really see myself doing TV [now] more than ever," the actress tells TV Guide Online. "I love TV so much. It's the most fun... just to get a new thing every week and have the [live] audience come in and to get to work with those actors. It's just awesome."

And while much of her career has been built on playing sarcastic sidekicks like Roseanne's Darlene — a role that netted her two Emmy nominations — Gilbert wants to expand her repertoire. That may explain why she jumped at the chance to portray Drew Barrymore's mousy pal in the Penny Marshall-directed comedy Riding in Cars with Boys (opening Friday).

"It's fun to get to play different things," concedes the 26-year-old, who first starred opposite Barrymore in 1992's cheap thrillfest Poison Ivy. "I'm sure I'll have plenty more opportunities to do [sarcastic roles]. If anything, I'm sure people watching me [in Cars] probably miss seeing that stuff more than I miss playing it."

Surprisingly, Gilbert even welcomed the opportunity to slip into some of her Cars character's very un-Darlene like wardrobe — which included '70s hip huggers and and tight scoop necks. "It was sort of a relief," she confesses. "When I've done things where they want you to look good, there's pressure to look good. With this, I just felt like, 'You know what, Sara? You're going to look terrible, so just go do it and be all of that character.' It took a lot of the pressure of looking great off because you just are what you are."