Known for her portrayal of the tough-as-nails Alex on The CW's "Nikita" (returns Fri., Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW), Lyndsy Fonseca also has a number of other projects under her belt.
In addition to appearing on "Big Love" and "Desperate Housewives," Fonseca plays Ted's (Josh Radnor) daughter alongside "Wizards Of Waverly Place" actor David Henrie in the opening segment of "How I Met Your Mother."
Fonseca spoke to HuffPost TV via phone to discuss the upcoming season of "Nikita," her love of co-star Shane West, and the best kept secret on TV: Who her mom is on "How I Met Your Mother."
What can you tell me about the upcoming season of "Nikita"?
It starts off in a different place, so right now all of the characters that were considered rogue agents are in control positions. Off camera we call them the "super friends" ... it's like our nickname for them. So the group of us are all kind of taking over Division and making it a little more of a friendly place. We're trying to hunt what we call the "Dirty 30," which is basically all the agents we sent out into the world. We're giving them the option of coming and working for the good guys or dealing with us. Every episode has a little bit of a "bad guy of the week" and contained storyline as well as storylines that continue on from episode to episode.
A lot of the episodes are really intense and action-heavy. How do you prepare?
On television, we don't have a whole lot of time to prepare. Our work schedule is so heavy that a lot of times we're just going on set without having seen the choreography or had any rehearsal prior. We really count on the stunt coordinators and our doubles to show us what we have worked out so we can jump in and we copy them and do it safely. I think we all train pretty regularly, that way when we do jump in to something, we're already physically prepared to handle it.
So when you're not shooting are you spending your time training and staying in shape?
One of our stunt coordinators is a martial arts trainer and a brilliant guy. We train together, and I have a pilates reformer in my room. Pilates is my favorite meditative way to get in shape. I don't like the gym and I don't like running, so I just lay on my pilates reformer. It's great.
What's it like working with Shane West? I remember when I first saw him in "A Walk To Remember" he was such a big deal.
Isn't that hilarious? I feel like it was a lifetime ago.
What was it like when you found out you were going to be on a show with him?
When I got the show I was a lot older, so I was kind of over my middle school crush. But it was definitely a little bit strange. I remember talking to my dad when we shot the pilot because he was the one who actually took me to see "A Walk To Remember" and I was like "Dad, this is really weird. The people that I would see in the movie theater ... I'm working with them." But now he's like my brother, you know? He's like family.
How do you like working on an action series versus a non-action series?
I love it. I feel like it kind of gives you a variety of stuff to do, that we're not stuck in a rut. We're not in suits every day playing lawyers. There's always something. We go undercover, we fight different people ... we're constantly in different situations, so I kind of like the way it never gets stale or boring.
So you're on practically every episode of "How I Met Your Mother." How much time did you actually spend shooting?
When we did the pilot, it was going to be a pretty big recurring role with the brother [David Henrie]. But what happened between the first and second season was that David Henrie grew so freaking fast .... he was like a little kid! We would go in maybe once a week and shoot a little thing for the first season. By the second season he was a man! His voice was deep, he had grown up, and the creators were kind of like, "Oh shit. What are we going to do?" So we ended up shooting stock footage and different reactions that can be placed in any situation. So what you see on TV was all shot in the same day, and they plug it in and put it wherever they want.
Do you still watch the show?
With my work schedule it's hard to watch things on a schedule, but I love "How I Met Your Mother." I miss that cast. I think they're very talented and funny.
Did you spend a lot of time with the cast?
I mostly worked with David and Josh [Radnor]. He would read off-camera for us.
Do you have any hunches on who the mother is?
Well, there was a time when we were told who it was and to never give the information out. But I have a feeling I really don't know ... It's been so long since I've been there!
What other projects are you working on?
"Kick Ass 2" is about to start. With my "Nikita" schedule, I'm not able to fully commit to the film, but I've been really lucky that the "Nikita" producers have been able to schedule me a week off the show so I can fly to London and work a little bit on the movie. So I'll be in the first 20 pages of the sequel. I'm just feeling really fortunate and excited that I get to be part of it. The first one was so much fun, and I really love the cast.
Season 3 "Nikita" premieres on Fri., Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. Read Laura Prudom's thoughts on the season premiere here.
