Tackling taboos with actorly pluck and ambition

Elisha Cuthbert isn't 'Quiet' about her challenging role in an Austin-made thriller

With a face at once hard and sensual, suggesting the blond trouble of a young Christina Applegate or Traci Lords, Elisha Cuthbert could be a femme fatale out of a '40s noir. A seductress, a gangster's moll, a double-crossing harpie — her jaded beauty would fit them all.

But the Canadian-born actress has had to settle on good-girl roles, parts like Kimberly Bauer — Kiefer Sutherland's daughter-in-distress on Fox's Emmy-winning serial thriller "24" — and vanilla "hot chicks" in the films "House of Wax" and "The Girl Next Door."

Sony Pictures Classics Read reviews of "The Quiet."

Enough of that, she says. So Cuthbert jumped on the part of Nina in the psychological thriller "The Quiet," the maiden feature by the University Texas Film Institute and Burnt Orange Productions, which was shot in the fall of 2004 in Austin.

Nina, a high school cheerleader, relishes emotionally tormenting her adopted teenage sister Dot (Camilla Belle), a shy deaf-mute. Both girls carry disturbing secrets, but Nina's is arguably worse: She is sleeping with her father (Martin Donovan).

Cuthbert was so intrigued by Nina that she signed on as an associate producer, which helped cast and secure financing for the low-budget project directed by Jamie Babbit ("But I'm a Cheerleader").

"This was the perfect role to say, 'Hey, guys, I'm a real actor and I can take on these deep, darker roles,' " Cuthbert says. "It was a great character piece for me to explore."

Cuthbert spent four weeks in Austin making "The Quiet," sampling the restaurants and nightlife when the cameras were off.

"I went to a really cool dueling piano bar on Sixth Street and a really great gay bar," says the former child actor, who, at age 10, worked as a foot model. (Her feet, size 5, are still nice, she says.)

While in Austin, Cuthbert also chatted with a fellow named Leslie.

"Your famous drag queen and I really hit it off," she says, laughing.

Energetic and loquacious, Cuthbert spoke by phone about the challenges playing Nina.

American-Statesman: Let's talk about incest. How hard were those scenes and how grossed-out were you?

Elisha Cuthbert: I was having a lot of problems doing it, actually. When I first read the script, I thought, "Oh, great, it will be edgy!" But it was hard diving into that mentality, playing the victim who at times didn't even realize what she was doing was wrong. I was having a lot of hard, mixed emotions about it, because everything about me wanted to play it the opposite, to fight back and defend myself. I kind of wanted to beat Martin Donovan (laughs).

Did you do any research?

I talked to a lot of psychiatrists and Jamie (Babbit) gave us articles about women who'd spoken up about it. The screenwriters also did a lot of research about abuse and how it happens.

How distressing did it get for you?

At one point I walked off the set halfway through a scene with Martin, just crying about it, getting really upset. I didn't know if I was going to be able to do it. Half of me wanted to throw up, half wanted to rage and get violent. It's hard playing the victim. I hate doing it.

Did you talk to Martin about it?

No, I didn't want to mess up the mood or make him uncomfortable, which is why I stepped off set. I remember just looking in the mirror, having a very movie moment, saying, "Get your act together. You're going to do this. These are all the reasons you wanted to make this movie."

What did he think about being the evil molester?

I feel bad for him, because I know he had apprehensions about playing the role. He didn't want people to hate him. But Jamie was really coy with him, telling him "This is a love story. You love your daughter. You may just love her a little too much."