Yvonne Strahovski spoke with reporters about her role in 24 season 9, what it’s like to work with Kiefer Sutherland and how her own accent feels “weird.”

Ever since her debut on cult favorite Chuck, Australian actress Yvonne Strahovski has become television’s latest go-to femme fatale. She spent two season on Dexter as (what else?) a serial killer and a had a memorable stint as a model in this season of Louie. Now, at the halfway point of 24 season 9, she has shared her thoughts on her latest heroine, Kate Morgan.

On what drew her to the role:

Oh, initially I liked the fact that we meet Kate at a low point in her life, you know, she doesn’t have it all together. She’s been demoted from her job, which means she obviously has professional problems going on as well as personal problems because her husband was found out to be selling government secrets to a foreign government. So I feel like at the time she had it really gave me a starting point with somewhere to go from and somewhere to go up from, which is what we’re seeing Kate do now in this journey.

On similarities between Kate and Jack:

No, I mean I definitely take inspiration from Kiefer. I definitely saw early on the similarities between the two characters and I think it’s important for me as an actress to recognize those particular similarities that ought to be there between Jack Bauer and Kate Morgan. That’s definitely a part of the storyline that we’re going in to. Obviously, I want to add my own flare to it, so that’s a whole separate thing, but definitely I take inspiration from Kiefer and I continue to as I see him work. He just really dives into this quite effortlessly.

On rarely using her native Australian accent:

It would be so weird to do something like that in my own accent. I’m really not used to doing anything in my own accent any more so it is actually more normal for me to put on an accent. I feel more comfortable doing that than doing my own, which is odd at this point.

On the the possibility of romance in 24: Live Another Day:

Without giving away, it’s so hard to answer. No, I mean (romance is) touched on in the show but I don’t think it’ll be happening between Kate and Jack.

On a potential Kate Morgan spin-off:

I mean I don’t really know what to say about that. I’ve read a couple articles here and there about that, so I don’t really know. I’m just happy that people seem to like Kate Morgan and I hope that they continue to.

24: Live Another Day officially crosses into the second half of its shortened season this Monday, June 9.