Showtime Newcomer Defies Death

In the new Showtime series Dead Like Me (debuting Friday at 10 pm/ET), apathetic, directionless 18-year-old George Lass is forced to become a grim reaper after she's killed by a flying toilet seat. Sure, the premise is fantastical, but the teen's insecure, "whatever" attitude is something many of us can relate to — except maybe George's portrayer, 22-year-old up-and-comer Ellen Muth.

"George didn't know what she wanted to do with her life," the actress tells TV Guide Online. "[As a teenager], I knew I wanted to be an actress, but I always had that kind of isolating feeling that nobody liked me or wanted to be around me. George is not enthusiastic about anything. I would get enthusiastic about things. And I get along with my mother very well, actually. We're both completely different in that aspect."

One thing that makes Muth sound downright excited about life is her longtime death-defying hobby, racing her Camaro SS. "I have a hot car, but I don't race on the streets," she explains. "I go to a track every now and then. I do it very safely at the Skip Barber School of Racing in Connecticut... I've had so many friends die in car accidents."

And she'll probably stick with her speed-demon ways if she's going to follow the advice Dead co-star Jasmine Guy gave her on the set: "You have to have fun outside of the world of acting," Muth quotes. "You can't just demand that you be in character all the time."