In this article: "Lost"'s Juliet vs. "V"'s Erica : How Mitchell sees her two TV roles

TV

Elizabeth Mitchell: Sci-Fi mom

You know her as Juliet on "Lost." Now she also stars in ABC's new show "V."

By T.J. Walter

"Honestly, I am a stone-cold nerd. I pretty much read, play chess and drink wine."

On TV, Elizabeth Mitchell's characters have been hardened, introverted and sometimes down-right mean. But a quick chat re-veals Mitchell's sweet, jovial demeanor.

"At some point down the line, I'd love to do something like a sitcom," says the 39-year-old actress who has been in the business for 16 years. "I love to laugh and joke around, so I think it would be something that would fit me." In the meantime, she seems to do well in the drama department: She has gained lots of fans as the enigmatic Juliet on "Lost" (and is set to return for next year's sixth and final season), and now she's starring as Erica, a single mom and FBI agent who has to resist an alien in-vasion in "V," ABC's remake of the 1980s cult series. "I'm a hard-core sci-fi nut, so both of these shows really get me excited."

Mitchell is a dutiful mom onscreen as well as off; she has a 4-year-old son, C.J. Because "V" films in Vancouver, she has been more able to focus on tend-ing to family duties, errands and assorted meetings around her Bainbridge Island, Wash., residence.

But that isn't to say she doesn't bring work home. Mitchell has watched new episodes of "V" with her husband, actor Chris Solde-villa, who doesn't exactly have a geek's penchant for spaceships and malevolent aliens. For Mitchell, "V" "has enough to marry a sci-fi lover and a not-so-much sci-fi fan together over popcorn," she says. "When you watch it, it makes your adrenaline pump a little bit."

Between her role on "V" and playing "Lost"'s Juliet (who was last seen in May's season finale falling down a shaft and detonating a hydrogen bomb), one would think that Mitchell must be a bit of an action junkie herself. But she says that isn't really the case.

"Honestly, I am a stone-cold nerd," she says. "I pretty much read, play chess and drink wine. I do love trail running, which can be a little bit of an action sport, if you want it to be."

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"Lost"'s Juliet vs. "V"'s Erica : How Mitchell sees her two TV roles