Ever since wrapping her five-season run on Chuck, Yvonne Strahovski has been living another day and then some, with a variety of roles on screens (small and big) and stage. But now, she faces one of her greatest challenges — earning the trust of one Jack Bauer, on Fox’s 24: Live Another Day (Mondays at 8/7c).

With Hour 5 of the 12-episode series approaching, TVLine reconnected with the Aussie beauty to survey her busy past two years, reveal the surprising way a spy comedy prepared her for 24‘s break-neck pace and ponder a revisiting of Mr. and Mrs. Bartowski.

TVLINE | I must imagine that for an actor it can be a little scary transitioning from a long-term gig like Chuck into the great unknown. Have these past couple of years been more fulfilling than you could have expected?
I have to say I feel really blessed to have continued to have a pretty jam-packed schedule.

TVLINE | And there’s been such variety — Dexter, Broadway, you popped up on Louie and now this. You’re running the gamut.
You never know what to expect after finishing a long-term series. I was lucky that I got to do films in between seasons of Chuck. Coming out of it, one year I did a movie [I, Frankenstein], I did my Broadway debut [in the Tony-nominated Golden Boy] and then I joined Dexter. So I feel like I had my fingers in all three pies. That is the industry — theater, film and television — so it’s been really cool. Now to be part of 24, which has been so well-received…. When you bring back a show that was on for eight years and has been off the air for four, you don’t really know what to expect. It’s a vulnerable position to be in, and I think that all the producers felt the same way. But everyone’s overwhelmed by the response.

TVLINE | But not even playing a serial killer’s serial-killing girlfriend could have prepared you for the adrenaline-pumping nature of the beast that is 24.
Funnily enough, Chuck prepared me for 24. We shot relatively fast on Chuck — we had such a low budget, we couldn’t afford to spend a lot of time on scenes back then. So in a similar situation now, 24 runs very fast. It’s something that I’m used to, in a way.

TVLINE | I imagine some of the skills you picked up on Chuck — the running and jumping, the gunplay — came in handy as well.
Definitely. I mean, I didn’t feel like I needed to go into any kind of “boot camp” training or gun training with 24 because I do already have that up my sleeve. Even though guns still make me nervous. No matter how much experience I’ll have with guns on set, things can still happen and you’ve got to be very careful. Continue reading