TV Guide Online: So... the hot exchange student, huh? Is Elke the role you were born to play, or what?
Maggie Grace: Actually, she's the first girl I've ever played that everyone has a crush on. Also, she's my first hot exchange student. Finally!

TVGO: Your Swedish accent sounds pretty good to me. Or maybe, like the Beenes, I was just distracted by your sweaters.
Grace: I worked pretty hard on it. Needless to say, I don't have too much experience! Usually, when I've had to do accents, it's been one of the more typical European ones.

TVGO: Obviously, Oliver doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell with Elke — she probably has teddy bears bigger than he. But what about older brother Ted?
Grace: He stands a chance. I think he's got a lot to offer her, but he accidentally sabotages things a lot. Things tend to blow up in his face, which, judging from my own adolescent experience — and my little brother is 17 right now — that's not too far from the truth!

TVGO: Do you worry at all that, as the show's token exchange student, if you don't catch on, they'll simply exchange you?
Grace: I could always be deported, I suppose! Or what if Elke is a Communist or something? All Europeans were Communists back then, right? [Laughs]

TVGO: On the flip side, if Elke becomes as popular with the audience as she is with the Beenes, do you hope to parlay that success into more hot-exchange-student parts on the big screen?
Grace: [Laughs] Well, you know, there are so many hot-exchange-student roles out there, right?

TVGO: Right! And Shannon Elizabeth can't play all of 'em!
Grace [Playing Elke] has been really fun. It's a lot different from everything else I've done. I usually get cast as sweet, all-American girls. I've also played a lot of, um, somewhat crazy characters. Kind of dark, edgy.... "Suicidal" tends to pop up a lot [in my character descriptions]. I don't know what it is about me!

TVGO: Before I let you out of the hot seat, what can you tell me about all these meetings you're taking?
Grace: Well, I'm pretty close on a lot of features right now. Nothing totally signed and for sure, but we'll see. On my weeks off from Oliver, though, I shot... let's see... an episode of Like Family on the WB, an episode of Lyon's Den on NBC... I just did a Cold Case for CBS. I was so excited when I finally had done all the networks! It was a little minigoal of mine.