Elisha Cuthbert takes a sharp turn to comedy

LOS ANGELES — Elisha Cuthbert was a little nervous before starting work on her new ABC series “Happy Endings.”

“I had some anxiety because most of my work on television had been with ‘24,' and I was used to that element,” Cuthbert says. “Once I got on the set, I felt like this was a good place for me. I felt comfortable.”

The series also stars Eliza Coupe, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr. and Casey Wilson.

Cuthbert, who mostly has worked on TV dramas, was willing to take the plunge into TV comedy because she liked the flawed character so much. It was a chance to play someone who wasn't perfect, who didn't have all the answers.

She describes her role as an “honest take on a girl in her late 20s-early 30s going through life at that time.”

Cuthbert has been working since she was 7 — most notably as Kim Bauer on several seasons of “24.” Nothing that happens with “Happy Endings” can be as testing as her days on “24.”

The writers didn't quite know what to do with her character after the first season and often created storylines that took idiotic turns. In the first three season, Kim was kidnapped five times, came face-to-face with a mountain lion and was wooed by a weird survivalist.

Cuthbert never said a word.

“I didn't complain about it because I thought this is where they see the character going. I kind of went with it and tried to think of the best way to play the scene,” Cuthbert says.

Because she wasn't in every episode, she had time to pursue other work. She made mainstream films such as “Love Actually” and “The Girl Next Door” but had no problem starring in smaller, independent movies such as “Captivity” and “He Was a Quiet Man.”

It's all been part of what Cuthbert calls “a weird career path.”

If “Happy Endings” is a hit, Cuthbert won't have much time to make movies. She's OK with that.

“I look forward to doing more movies in the future,” she says. “But TV's such a great place to be, especially now. I can reach an audience that's much bigger with television than going off to do these independent films. But I like doing all sorts of things. I get bored really easily.”