She plays the mysterious and dangerous Cylon, Number Six, on Battlestar Galactica, and the mysterious and dangerous spy, Carla, on Burn Notice. And then there's her recurring role as a dangerous and mysterious spy on Chuck.

A 5' 10" former model, Tricia Helfer seems to be everywhere lately, and with her roles on Burn and Battlestar both ending this season, let's hope she finds some other ways to show up on various screens near us.

I had a chance to speak with Tricia recently - and by "speak with" I mean I was on a mass interview call with hundreds of other people and listened in while they asked pre-screened questions. But that doesn't sound nearly as impressive.

Here are Tricia's (greatly shortened) answers to five of those questions, and when you're done with that, a gallery of some of my favorite pics of her. Purely for informational purposes.

Q: Do you prefer to play these types of characters, or have you found it hard to branch out and not be thought of this ass-kicking destroyer of the human race?
TRICIA: I’d rather play an ass-kicking destroyer or a super strong spy or agent than some meek, vulnerable character... they’re certainly fun characters to play.


Q: You've gone from being a model to being sought after for roles on major TV shows. How have you managed that career path?
TRICIA: To be honest, it is the career path that I never thought I would be going down. When I was in high school I thought I was going to university into psychology. I was discovered by a model scout and I thought I’d give that a try. Cut to ten years later, eight years later, I had a great career, but feeling like I wanted more and definitely something more intriguing for the mind. So I started acting classes just on a whim... and absolutely fell in love with it from the first class.


Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced in making the transition from model to actress?
TRICIA: To be honest, to be taken seriously. Models have a stigma that they can’t act. You’re also, to be quite blunt, you’re tall and not a lot of actors are tall. You just have to be persistent. I think that’s one of the biggest things about this industry and this career is being persistent and believing in yourself.


Q: Do you ever think that maybe you’ll make a return to fashion?
TRICIA: I have no interest in going back into fashion, aside from doing some endorsements or something. I had a great career at it, learned a lot, but moved on and I’m much more excited to be working on a character or getting into the psychology of a character, that sort of thing, than just posing for a picture.


Q: Do you think there’s any possibility of a spin-off of Battlestar in the future?
TRICIA: Without giving away the finale, I guess there sort of could be. It’s definitely a closing in one respect, but now that you mentioned it, there could possibly be a spin-off. I really don’t expect there to be and I don’t think that’s their intention, but I guess you can never say never in this business.