An Interview with Marisol Nichols (Nadia, 24)

Most of us love watching those Red Carpet interviews on E!, but imagine not only being on the red carpet, but having the unique opportunity to interview some of the hottest stars in Hollywood. Such is the life for our resident Hollywood Movies Guide Rebecca Murray. While on the red carpet for the premiere of Stranger Than Fiction, Rebecca had a chance to catch-up with Marisol Nichols, who will appear in season six of Fox's 24 as Nadia, whose character will take on the bad guys as second in command over at CTU. 24, which has been filming since August, is set to premiere on January 14, 2007.

Q: How tough is it for you to keep a secret about what’s going on?

Marisol: “Really hard because people ask you questions and you can’t say anything! I can say what I do; I can my character but that’s it. You kind of have to keep it under wraps.”

Q: Do you get people offering you bribes to tell them what’s going on?

Marisol: “I have friends that will not run lines with me because they don’t want to know what’s going to happen. It’s to that degree.”

Q: Why do you think the show has caught on so well with audiences?

Marisol: “I think that it has subject matter that everyone’s dealing with as a nation. Even though it is TV, it gives us hope that there’s somebody out there – like Jack Bauer – taking control. That everything is organized and that we’re going to see an end to it. So I think it really, really hits home. They were filming during 9/11, when that all hit. And this year is really, really poignant to what we’re dealing with as a nation.”

Q: What are you allowed to say about your character?

Marisol: “I can say that my character’s name is Nadia and that I’m second in command at CTU, so you’ll see me in CTU all the time. I play a Pakistani-American.”

Q: Let’s see, you’re second-in-command at CTU so we’re supposed to think you’re a good guy, right?

Marisol: “Yes, and that’s what I know so far.”

Q: Do you know exactly how the season is plotted out or is it basically script to script (on a need to know basis)?

Marisol: “No, it’s really one show at a time. We have no idea what’s going to happen next and we’re all as actors getting our scripts going, ‘Okay, what happens next? What happens next?’ I mean, there are scripts that I’ve read where I go, ‘Oh my god!’ We don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Q: They’re not afraid to kill off lead characters. Do you get the script and wonder if you’re going to be one of those to go next?

Marisol: “Actually, yes. I get the script and go, ‘Oh, good. I’m still in it. I’m still alive. All is good.’”

Q: What is it like to work with Kiefer Sutherland?

Marisol: “I actually haven’t physically worked with him because I’m in CTU. But I can tell you that the cast is phenomenal. Mary Lynn [Rajskub] who plays Chloe is unbelievable and James Morrison… We’ve got Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota, plus James Cromwell and Peter MacNicol and Regina King. I mean just some real powerhouse actors.”

Q: Everyone seems to want to be on that show.

Marisol: “(Laughing) We get a lot of visitors, huge names that come in – like Ricky Gervais – to do just little…just to be in the background, just to be in a scene. It’s a really exciting show to be a part of.”

Q: Were you a fan of the previous seasons of 24?

Marisol: “Yeah, I loved 24. My friends freaked out. I mean freaked out! My family, they were over the moon that it was 24.”

Q: What else are you working on?

Marisol: “I have a new movie coming out from Lionsgate called Delta Farce. That’ll be out in May with Larry the Cable Guy. Completely opposite of 24. Comedy, spoof…”

Q: Do you enjoy that as a break from doing 24?

Marisol: “Yes. Actually every hiatus I’ve had from a drama I’ve done these silly, silly comedies. They’re easy and they’re fun, and they’re just a different thing to play around with.”