Katrina Bowden, with her long, Pantene-commercial-style blonde hair and shorty-shorts is somewhat of a ray of sunshine amid her frumpy (in the nicest way!) cast mates on 30 Rock. And though her character Cerie looks like she could be the fifth Hills girl (in the nicest way!), Bowden ain’t no ditz. As all the side characters (Kenneth, Josh, Topher, et. al) are beginning to come into their own, Cerie, too, is becoming a more integral part of the show and Bowden has truly mastered the art of playing a totally un-self aware, blasé assistant. There is nothing neurotic or self-deprecating about her — she is the antithesis to the frazzled Liz Lemon, played by Tina Fey. Now that Cerie is engaged we have high hopes for her, character-development-wise, and are excited that we will be seeing more of Ms. Bowden, as she stars in upcoming films The Sex Drive and Ratko: The Dictator’s Son. We recently caught up with her for a quick Q&A.

Alexis Swerdloff: I saw on your Wikipedia page that your character’s full name is Cerie Xerox. Is this true?

Katrina Bowden: It’s never been officially stated on the show, but yes, her last name is Xerox. [Executive producer] Robert Carlock wanted like a funny wealthy name, like I’m the Xerox heiress. I hope they incorporate it later on. Maybe when I get married…

AS: How did you land the role? What was the audition process?

KB: Basically, I wasn’t in the pilot episode; they had cast another girl to play Cerie. But I knew the casting director and knew they were re-casting the role, so I read with Tina. The next day, they offered me the part. The first table read was so nerve-racking. I was running late and when I got there, it was the silliest thing — I didn’t know what Tracy Morgan or Alec Baldwin looked like. So I got there and I was so nervous and so embarrassed, I was the new girl, but then everyone turned out to be super nice and treated me like one of the family. And yes, I figured out which one was Alec Baldwin fairly quickly.

AS: Was it like a big happy reunion when you all returned to the show after the writers’ strike?

KB: Yeah it was great. Right before we went back, we had all been at the SAG Awards, it was like a precursor.

AS: Can you give us a hint as to what’s in store for Cerie this season?

KB: I have no idea. I know they’ll probably prolong my engagement as long as possible.

AS: You’re kind of the straight guy on the show and have really mastered the art of the deadpan delivery.

KB:: Yeah, I was told I was the type of girl who didn’t care about job, didn’t acknowledge that it was a cool job. It was part my doing and Tina’s talking to me about the character. Cerie is not dumb, but she’s flighty, she doesn’t have a care in the world.

AS: Compare your style to Ceries’s.

KB: There really is no comparison. I do not dress like that in real life. I mean, when the show first came out, people would see me out and say, ‘You’re not dressed like her, I don’t recognize you like that.’ I dress a lot more conservatively. And would never even wear some of those outfits to the gym.

AS: Have they ever asked you to wear something that you’ve felt uncomfortable in?

KB: Um no. They’ve never asked me to wear anything that’s been too out there. One time I had to basically wear like underwear and a poncho, but it was a small scene.

AS:Tell me about The Sex Drive?

KB: It’s silly, fun lighthearted comedy that I just finished in Florida with James Marsden. It’s kind of like that John Cusack movie A Sure Thing.

From PaperMag.com