“I’m trying to let go of any feelings of embarrassment.”
~ Elisha Cuthbert
by CARSON ABRIR
FATHERHOODCHANNEL.COM
On September 14, 2003, it was Jennifer Lopez who left Ben Affleck at the altar without his bride in the very real drama of their own lives.
Last night, Elisha Cuthbert brought that story, and many more like it, to life in the premier of Happy Endings, the new ABC comedy that premiered as J.Lo, People’s pick for the world’s most beautiful woman, was waving goodbye to American Idol fans on the same FOX channel where we watched Elisha Cuthbert grow up as Jack Bauer’s rebellious daughter over 79 episodes of the hit espionage series, 24.
While Happy Endings and 24 reached the air at yondmost ends of television entertainment, Elisha Cuthbert is betting that fans who kept her scripted (and alive) through six seasons of 24 will stayed tuned to find out how she survives the challenges and adventures Alex, her character on Happy Endings, will face. 24 fans awaiting the long-delayed 24 movie are expecting a cameo appearance by Kiefer Sutherland will again protect Elisha Cuthbert from a threat to a future happy ending.
“I want people to see a different side of me,” Elisha Cuthbert says. “I spent a lot of years trying to figure out plotlines and do the whole dramatic thing. It’s been an awakening to not have to think too hard about anything and just have a good time. I’m trying to let go of any feelings of embarrassment.”
Although Elisha Cuthbert would love to appear again with Kiefer Sutherland, she says she’s ready to say goodbye to her character on 24.
“A lot of people loved to hate my character on 24,” Elisha Cuthbert says. “I want to be the character people love to love.”
Elisha Cuthbert says her own romantic experiences have made her smarter about love.
“I’ve had pretty standard relationships that weren’t too long-term,” she says. “My relationship now (with Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player Dion Phaneuf) is the longest I’ve ever been in. I think that’s good because it’s keeping on track with my age (28). I’m getting older and wiser.”
“I do believe that when you know better, you do better,” she says. “You know what was wrong about the last relationship, and hopefully you will do better the next time.”
Learning from life’s experiences is all about happy endings, Elisha Cuthbert says. “Our show is about love, love between a group of friends, love that doesn’t necessarily always work out, the search for love,” the actress says.
Eight years after leaving Ben Affleck at the altar, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are preparing to celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary. At 41, People Magazine says J.Lo is the most beautiful woman in the world, which Jennifer Lopez credits to the abundance of love in her life. Real beauty in a person comes from the heart, she says.
“I feel better, I feel smarter,” Jennifer Lopez says. “In my 20s, I just wasn’t there in my mind and my soul and my spirit. It’s just great to be in the position I’m in now and be able to share that with the world.”
That’s just the kind of happy ending Elisha Cuthbert is hoping to find for her life too.