THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON 1/24/2005
Jim Belushi, Kim Raver, Population One. Kim visits The Late Late Show to talk about "The 24."

Craig: My next guest spent five seasons as a star of a the highly acclaimed drama Third Watch. She recently joined the hit series 24 which airs Monday on FOX. Take a look at this...
{clip from 24 plays}
Craig: Please welcome Kim Raver everybody.
{audience cheers and applauds}
Craig:...sit on the microphone?
Kim: Oh, yeah. I did.
Craig: Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.
Kim: Thank you.
Craig: Listen, congratulations on The 24 show. It's the biggest show on TV. Bigger than According to Jim. It's the biggest show in the history of TV.
Kim: I like the way you said " The 24 show."
Craig: The 24 show. Yeah.
Kim: You remind me of my husband 'cause he's from France, so it's always a little bit of a translation for me.
Craig: Really? Do I sound French to you?
Kim: No, but, it's like, when I first met my husband he's like "Honey, can you pass me the sweetpants?"
Craig: Sweet pants?
Kim: And I was like "what does he mean?"
Craig: You know what that means in French?
Kim: I was...I was afraid to find out---
Craig: Well... you did find out.
Kim: That's why I married him.
Craig: Where did you meet your husband?
Kim: He meant sweatpants, but...
Craig: Sweatpants, all right.
Kim: Sweetpants.
Craig: Sweetpants, sweatpants...let's call the whole thing off. Where did you meet your husband?
Kim: I met him at a swimming pool.
Craig: A swimming pool in France or a swimming pool in America?
Kim: In America. In New York.
Craig: Really? Like a city pool?
Kim: You seemed kinda disgusted. "Like a city pool?!"
Craig: Well, you know, you're a big timey actress, you probably have your own pool. Or a couple of 'em.
Kim: In New York, in my little apartment...no. It was, you know, at a gym. I kind of--- I sort of blew him off at first 'cause I was like "Okay, I'm here to work out. I'm, you know, on Third Watch. I gotta be really like, physical." And you're not at your most attractive. I mean, I was wearing like one of those horrific bathing suits like up to here with a little Speedo cap and, uh...
Craig: French guys love that. French guys are very into that.
Kim: Well, I thought, you know, I mean, if he thinks I'm hot now, well at least it'll be, you know, easier after this.
Craig: Do you speak French?
Kim: I do.
Craig: And did you speak French before you met him?
Kim: I did, but I didn't let him know that I spoke French. I thought, you know, if he really is interested I'll let him work for it a little bit.
Craig: That's kinda good 'cause then if he was like on the phone with his buddies saying like...
Kim: I could kinda spy. I did...
Craig: So how did you get the 24 job? How did that happen?
Kim: I was actually in France with my husband and his family and I was on vacation 'cause I was on hiatus from Third Watch and uh, you know, I didn't check my machine, I was on vacation, I didn't think anything was gonna happen. And then I check my messages and it was like 12:00 on like a Sunday night and my agent was like--- and my manager said "we need you here by Monday afternoon." And there was that panic. I woke up my husband, I was like "okay we gotta get a flight" and I have a two-year-old and I was like "well I don't want to leave him..." So basically I, you know, I got the last two tickets, I flew to New York. And this is by myself. I mean, I know everyone does it with their kids by themselves, but I'm on there, it was about an 18 hour flight 'cause I had to go from the south of France and of course---
Craig: That's very tough, isn't it? To go from the south of France to the big new job in TV. My goodness it's like being down a coal mine. No, it's lovely though, you got it.
Kim: No but it's like, it's a lot, I mean it's a big thing, like "okay, I'm gonna go there and meet with them and then maybe it won't happen and I don't know." So basically, I had my son by myself and I don't know if you guys know what a two-year-old is asleep when you have to get from terminal A to terminal--- But, it's basically like carrying this chair.
Craig: Mm hmm. A chair that poops. I know about this.
Kim: But I made it, my mom came to New York and she had my son and I like, went to uh, LA and I got the job on the spot which nev--- I mean that so rarely happens.
Craig: Oh, so this was just for an audition? This wasn't...
Kim: This was to sort of meet the producers and then kind of audition for them at the same time. But I was kinda giving up, you know, I was, I wasn't quite sure what was gonna happen. And then Joel... was like "this is our Audrey!" And I was like, I was so stunn--- 'cause it was just such a long trip to get there and uh...
Craig: ...fantastic. Lovely show biz story. Now you've had to move then to--- they shoot 24 here in LA, right?
Kim: They do. And I'm in deep denial 'cause I'm a New Yorker so I uh, I still have my 917 area code on my cell phone and I still have like my plates, my New York plates on my car and...
Craig: You're only allowed that for a little bit of time.
Kim: I know. Shh, don't tell them.
Craig: It's all right, nobody's watching.
Kim: That's not true, I hear you have huge ratings. You're the, not the 24, you probably do better than The 24.
Craig: The 24. We are the top rated show on TV. Even bigger than According to Jim.... No... So you've had to move from New York to LA. You're a New Yorker though. You're a New Yorker, right?
Kim: I am. I'm born and...born and raised there and so I'm out here, it's a little--- I mean, my first day of work I literally like walked on the set after my coal mining job of getting there---
Craig: In the south of France.
Kim: In the south of France. And uh, they're "welcome, you know, here, we're gonna start with this first scene" and basically they blindfolded me, gagged me, and handcuffed me and threw me into a van.
Craig: Really? So it was just like New York.
Kim: Just like New York, yeah.
Craig: That's what happened and that was your character's first like, job on the show was to get kidnapped?
Kim: Yes.
Craig: That was the first thing you shot.
Kim: That was the first thing. And then the second thing I uh, I was introduced to Kiefer and I basically shook his hand and then we had to make-out.
Craig: Really?
Kim: You sounded interested.
Craig: Well, I kinda like that. I'm European. Ask your husband. We're kinda kinky like that.
Kim: Really?
Craig: Oh, yeah... I don't even know what I'm saying... It's that Jim Belushi, he's a gay icon. He got me all going. He got me all going.
Kim: Like Streisand?
Craig: Yeah, he's like Streisand, exactly. ...like Barbara Streisand. Barbara Streisand, Jim Belushi, peas in a pod!
Kim: Actually I was walking up here and his son ran through my legs and Jim said "uh, do I get to do that?" I was like "aww, no."
Craig: Well, listen, welcome to LA, you'll be all right, it's fine, it's a lovely city, you'll be okay. And congratulations on 24.
Kim: Thank you.
Craig: Thanks for coming to visit. 24 airs Mondays on FOX. Kim Raver everybody. Kim Raver.

OClick for Audio of the Interview (8.5mb)