Odette Annable: House, Dr. Jessica Adams

Odette Annable said it plainly: "I was definitely nervous. My nerves were taking over coming in because House is a show that's been on for eight seasons …" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Odette Annable made her mark starring in J.J. Abrams' box-office hit Cloverfield. She went on to star in the comedy You Again, David S. Goyer's horror-thriller The Unborn, and the comedy/drama Operation: Endgame opposite Zach Galifianakis. She began her acting career at age five when she appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop. After completing high school and pursuing a modeling career, she landed a starring role in the Jennifer Lopez-produced television series South Beach. She also starred as Melanie on the Fox comedy series Breaking In and played graduate student Aubrey Diaz on the critically acclaimed drama October Road. In Season 8 of House, Annable joins the cast as new fellow Dr. Jessica Adams. House airs Mondays at 9:00 p.m. on Fox. She spoke with Premier Guide Miami's Kamilah Wallace.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: You must have been very nervous to work with TV's most abrasive doctor, House?

ODETTE ANNABLE: I was definitely nervous. My nerves were taking over coming in because this is a show that's been on for eight seasons and these actors have been working together year after year — not only just the actors but everybody, the crew. I couldn't help but to be nervous at first, really for the whole thing. But to be working with Hugh and just to get to know him as an actor and as a person, he really blew me away. He might be one of my favorite actors that I've ever worked with. He's so generous and so talented and so easy to work with, so it's been a pleasure so far. Hugh is fantastic.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How many episodes will you be doing?

ODETTE ANNABLE: I'm around for most of the season. How many episodes I will actually be in will be determined later. I'll stick around for a little while.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Was it a major adjustment for you to fall right into this role as a doctor?

ODETTE ANNABLE: Absolutely. I got the script a few days before shooting so I didn't have time to throw myself into that world, but we do have some great researchers on the show and some great medical techs. They're on hand every single second whenever you need them, so I will prepare with them. I will do my own research episode by episode into what we really do, because we really don't know where our characters are going and what we're going to be doing per episode, so we'll take it on an episode-by-episode basis.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Is this a challenge for you, learning the medical terms or the medical aspect of the show?

ODETTE ANNABLE: Yes. There are a lot of medical terms that I have to learn and this isn't the type of show where you can just show up and wing it. You really do need to know your things and prepare, so it was very challenging and still is, working on it.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: You are very fortunate to be on two of Fox's successful shows, House and Breaking In. Is this a struggle for you?

ODETTE ANNABLE: Fox is killing me. I'm very excited that Breaking In got picked up but my number one priority right now is House and working on that. So I will be doing double duty at some point. I don't know when that will be yet. I do think Breaking In will start probably early in the new year, so we shall see how that goes. I'm willing.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What do you find that is different and intriguing about House?

ODETTE ANNABLE: This is actually unlike anything I have ever done, and I feel so lucky thus far in my career not to have been stereotyped. I've been able to do a little bit of everything, but this is so different. I believe that this is a television show that's on the highest caliber of writing and acting. I think it's so flawlessly executed, and it's been definitely the biggest challenge that I have had yet in my career. And I'm embracing it, and I'm taking it in, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. The character is so intriguing, and I really love playing her every single day, and I'm just excited to go along with the journey with the audience. It's a very good thing. It's very exciting.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Describe the dynamic or relationship between House and Dr. Adams?

ODETTE ANNABLE: She's used to being really the smartest person in the room, and now she will be the second smartest person in the room, and she knows that when she meets House. She doesn't have his experience or wisdom or knowledge yet but she's truly fascinated by him as a doctor. The interesting thing about her is that she's fortunate enough to be in a financial situation that she doesn't have to work, but she wants to. She's there to learn. She's very passionate about medicine and he changes that in her. He revives something that she was maybe losing for a second, and she's sort of an overachiever with a cause — and her cause is to help people. Her relationship with House — they're going to be playing on that line, and towards the end of the first episode you'll see that they help each other. It will be definitely a very interesting relationship.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Have you any clue where your character is headed?

ODETTE ANNABLE: I wish I could tell you where my character was going and how that will develop, but that's really the beauty of television. You're going to take the journey with the audience and it'll be as much of a journey for me as it will be for the audience, and we'll see how that relationship develops. I have no idea where it's going.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Did you feel welcomed walking on the set of House?

ODETTE ANNABLE: I would have to say, yes. It's such a well-oiled machine that I was hoping that I could come in and that I was welcomed and to have the dream, and I have. I've walked into a group of people that really have just welcomed me with open arms and have some compassion for me because they were right there with me in the first year, the second year, so they understand how challenging the show is. And everybody is encouraging, and Hugh Laurie is such a pleasure to work with as well as the other cast members and our executive producers.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Were you shy growing up and how did you manage to get out of that?

ODETTE ANNABLE: I was a very introverted child, and my parents didn't know how to get me out of my shell so the better option for them was to throw me into the entertainment business, which I think is ridiculous, but now it worked out. I was about four years old and a family friend was doing commercials and they thought, well, let's see what happens.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What was your first audition like?

ODETTE ANNABLE: My first audition happened to be for Kindergarten Cop and I took that role. I was only starting to learn English at that point — Spanish is my first language — so they made me a speaking character in the movie and I didn't really know I was shooting a movie. I was just having a lot of fun with 30 kids my own age, and my parents thought, well, if you want to keep doing this, great. If not, no worries. And I really had a great time and I continued to do it throughout the years. I'd still focus on school but my passion really was to act. It was either to be a CEO of a company — which may very well still happen — or to really push through acting, and I did. I took it seriously and I've been very lucky and I'm so grateful to be on House now.

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