The Girl Next Door is back on 24, and Elisha Cuthbert is the bright spot of our day all over again.

Story by Justin Monroe; Photography By Nino Muñoz; Styling By Tara Swennen

MORE CREDITS »

(STYLIST) TARA SWENNEN FOR THE WALL GROUP; (HAIR) MARA ROZACK FOR TRESEMME AT THEMAGNETAGENCY.COM; (MAKEUP) MONIKA BLUNDER FOR DIOR BEAUTY AT THE WALL GROUP; (PHOTOS) AP PHOTO; VAREKOVA: GETTY IMAGES

Some people criticized Captivity, saying it was misogynistic. How did you reconcile doing the project with being a strong woman?

Elisha Cuthbert: I think it got really twisted from start to finish. It’s unexplainable, what transpired when we were making it, and having to go back and add more horror and gore, and what happened in the media. My job really starts and finishes when we’re filming. I have no control over what a studio or a production company wants to do with the film after I’m done with it.

Since you’ve had reservations about showing skin, is there any similar reservation to the violence in movies like that?

Elisha Cuthbert: The original film had no violence at all, and then the movie turned into something completely different. I wish, actually, that I had had a lot more say-so in the situation, but unfortunately in that case I didn’t. But would I do a film like Wanted, like Angelina Jolie did? Hell, yeah.

So, you’re into comics?

Elisha Cuthbert: I’ve been a fan since I was younger, yeah.

Do you still follow them?

Elisha Cuthbert: I had a favorite as a kid called The Maxx; MTV ended up doing a cartoon version of it. I have the entire set of that, and that’s always been my favorite and kind of still is. I thought it was very smart and really deep and that the art was like an underground world. I really used to like the Japanese art with manga and all that stuff, but The Maxx is always my favorite.

Do you have a dark side to you?

Elisha Cuthbert: In what way?

Do you enjoy watching people get pummeled?

Elisha Cuthbert: No.

But you’re a hockey fan!

Elisha Cuthbert: Actually, I’m pretty conservative and anti-confrontational. I’m not a big fan of confrontation—that’s probably the Canadian in me.

Really? I thought most hockey crowds go nuts for fights.

Elisha Cuthbert: I think the worst would be watching Ultimate Fighting, you know? Hockey can get really aggressive and fights definitely break out, but they’re regulated and there are officials there. It’s almost calculated. I think football’s a lot harder to watch sometimes.

Your bio says you’re a former foot model. How is it being selected for a specific body part?

Elisha Cuthbert: You know, everyone goes there with me—but I was 6 years old! I have no sort of affiliation with foot modeling. Yes, I did that as a child, but it was not bare feet; it was in a kid’s catalog with rubber boots on.

That’s not nearly as sexy. Our apologies.

Elisha Cuthbert: I think the Internet created whatever it is they wanted to create with it.

Well, it is out there on the Web, so do you get any weird foot fetish requests from people?

Elisha Cuthbert: No, no. As far as what?

Like fans asking, ”Can I kiss your feet?”

Elisha Cuthbert: No. I mean, I don’t know what they talk about on blogs, but in person, no.

Speaking of blogs, you’ve been on a lot of those 100 hottest women lists. Who do you think are the five sexiest women alive today?

Elisha Cuthbert: I leave it to the experts to deal with that. When do you ever see an ugly-looking actress? Home // GIRLS // COVER GIRLS // ELISHA CUTHBERT