Prison Break

Jodi Lyn O'Keefe Interview

TVGuide.com: I was a bit nervous getting ready to talk to you, but Dominic Purcell assured me you're not nearly as fierce as Susan B.

Jodi Lyn O'Keefe: No, I'm not at all. I'm actually a pretty big pushover.

TVGuide.com: How familiar were you with Prison Break before joining the series?
O'Keefe: I was a huge fan, so it's pretty unnerving to be a cast member now.

TVGuide.com: Especially since this show doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to female characters and love interests.
O'Keefe: [Laughs] See, thankfully I'm not a love interest.

TVGuide.com: Yet.
O'Keefe: Yet! And Prison Break doesn't have a really good track record for its bad guys either, so... when you look at it.... [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Why do I get the feeling that Susan B. isn't an entirely willing part of The Company? That maybe she herself is being compelled into servitude?
O'Keefe: I think you're on the right track. Susan's not as bad as everyone makes her out to be. She has some reasons for doing what she does, and we're finding out a lot more about her. Coming up, there will be some flashbacks showing that Susan was a prisoner of war and she was raped and tortured, so she feels there isn't a place left for her in society anymore.

TVGuide.com: Yeah, it would take something dark to send her into this line of work.
O'Keefe: That's exactly what happened. There's more motivating her than what we've seen.

TVGuide.com: Dominic reiterated his want for some action, a horizontal hookup for Linc....
O'Keefe: [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Might Susan B. warm up a bit and fill the bill?
O'Keefe: I don't know about that. I haven't been told that yet. I think it may have to be someone else to give Dom some action.

TVGuide.com: I half-suspected that her comment about him banging her on the bar was an invitation.
O'Keefe: Well, she sort of talks to all the boys that way. You'll see that coming up. That's just her style.

TVGuide.com: You seem pretty confident wielding a gun. Is that thanks to your Nash Bridges days?
O'Keefe: That's thanks to Nash Bridges and my days on The Evidence. For some reason, everyone keeps giving me a gun!

TVGuide.com: Will Prison Break give you the opportunity to display your kickboxing skills?
O'Keefe: Oh, gosh. It's been so many years.... But yeah, I do have some stunt work coming up and I do beat up some people.

TVGuide.com: What can you tease about the fall finale airing in mid-December?
O'Keefe: Oh, so much happens. I can't give it away, but I will tell you that our action sequences are absolutely incredible. We have a helicopter pilot who does things with a chopper that I have never seen before in my life.

TVGuide.com: What's one of the biggest stunts you've ever tackled yourself?
O'Keefe: I jumped off the roof of a police car and knocked somebody down. That was for a movie I did a million years ago. They let me do my own stunt work, so I said, "Yeah!" It went pretty well.

TVGuide.com: Are you a fan at all of the spoof Not Another Teen Movie, having starred in She's All That?
O'Keefe: I am, I absolutely am. I make fun of myself all the time, so anytime they want to spoof any movie I've been a part of, that's great.

TVGuide.com: Who are you most often mistaken for?
O'Keefe: Tiffani Thiessen and Yasmine Bleeth. I get their fan mail sometimes!

TVGuide.com: You and Yasmine both have these "otherworldly" eyes....
O'Keefe: Thank you, oh my gosh! They're blue, just like my mother's.

TVGuide.com: What's the craziest thing you've ever had to do for a lad-mag photo shoot?
O'Keefe: The craziest thing for me is just showing a little bit of skin. I did a Maxim cover once and let's just say it wasn't my father's favorite picture. My mother asked me if I was trying to kill him. [Laughs] I wasn't naked but... you know, I'm the "baby" of the family.

TVGuide.com: Which of your previous TV series got the shortest shrift?
O'Keefe: That would have to be The Evidence. We jumped from Episode 3 to 8 and then we were off the air.

TVGuide.com: Do you think that in a way it was before its time?
O'Keefe: Yeah, I do. It was such an amazing cast and I got to work with Martin Landau in this lifetime, which is incredible, and Orlando Jones and Rob Estes. I thought for sure it would stick around for a little.

TVGuide.com: When's the last time you played a nice girl?
O'Keefe: I don't remember! [Laughs] I was good on Nash Bridges!

TVGuide.com: Yeah, but you were like 10 years old back then.
O'Keefe: Yeah, 10 or 12... or 16.

TVGuide.com: What sort of TV do you like?
O'Keefe: I really like Comedy Central. I watch The Colbert Report and Jon Stewart....

TVGuide.com: Would you vote for Colbert for president?
O'Keefe: Immediately, of course! Sign me up for campaign manager!

Source: TvGuide