After a decade as a member of the "Friends" ensemble, Jennifer Aniston became a household name and representative of a certain comedic style. Of course, after the show ended she turned to mainstream features such as "Bruce Almighty" and indie fare such as "The Good Girl," but got sidetracked by a the collapse of her marriage to Brad Pitt. With "Derailed," she gets back on track co-starring with Clive Owen in a crisp, tense noir thriller about two people who try to start an illicit affair with tragic results.

Q: Having done 10 years of comedy, were you looking for dramatic roles in a film like this?

JA: I think you're always looking for good roles--comedic, dramatic, whatever it is. So yeah, this came along at a perfect time, when it was like fate. As far as what I'm going to do next, nothing is definite [though there are several projects in post-production]. I need some time off, truthfully, unless something wonderful comes along. Nothing has yet. I'm focusing on the projects that I'm developing, that's Plan B.

Q: With all the media attention directed at you how do you stay grounded when your life almost gets derailed--what advice would you give people who found themselves in a similar situation?

JA: I'm not a role model or whatever, or the poster child for how to do anything. It was my first time at this particular picnic. So, I just have had a great family, and great friends. This is nothing out of the ordinary--people walk through this stuff all the time. It's great having a creative outlet and having work to do as well. And when I wasn't working that was fine too.

Q: How would you describe your character in a way so that you don't give away the secret twist to the story?

JA: Well, I would describe her as a normal woman who is at a very mundane phrase in her life, who meets this very intriguing, lovely man on a train. He succumbs to temptation and they both have to figure out a way to get out of the terrible consequences, that they created for themselves.

Q: And the movie?

JA: This is a sexy, psychological thriller [laughs].

Q: Since this is Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom's first American production how was he to work for on this film?

JA: This was such unchartered territory but I felt such a trust in everything he said. There was never a debate, never any questioning. That was really important. Having seen [his film] "Evil," meeting him and talking about his take on how he wanted to play this, made it intriguing, because it's an uncomfortable reality. There is a lot of discomfort watching this movie. Put in the wrong hands, it could have gone that high concept glossy slick thriller and it's not, far from it.

Q: Was it scary to take that plunge?

A: Yeah, there was definitely a moment of "Uh gosh, I don't know if I can pull this off." But then I had Mikael and enough people around me believing that I could really pull this off. Thank God for directors like him who think that it was interesting for him to take my persona and put it in this part. I really appreciate that.

Q: That was your "grateful persona"?

JA: Yeah, whatever the persona is that has prevented me getting other roles like this.