Jennifer: Ambition key to big roles

7:41pm Thursday 20th November 2008

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Jennifer Carpenter has said it is easy for her to play ambitious women on hit TV series Dexter and in new film Quarantine - because she is one herself.

"I think [I'm ambitious]," she said.

"I think you have to be to do this for a living and to hopefully get any work. I'm pretty competitive and I love auditioning. A lot of actors don't but I like to go into a room and fill in the blanks."

The star plays TV reporter Angela Vidal in Quarantine, which sees her get trapped inside a building quarantined by the authorities when a mysterious virus turns the people inside into bloodthirsty killers.

And it's not the first horror film the 28-year-old star has been involved with. She also appeared in 2005 scary film thriller The Exorcism Of Emily Rose.

"I feel like they seek me out," she said of these blood-spattered roles.

"I'm a pretty optimistic person, I'm pretty happy in my life so it's sort of strange that I'm asked to go and fight for my life all the time on shows and movies.

"I feel like there's sort of a method to the madness in this genre.

"Your mind has to be on and functioning and it's part of figuring it out. You're always figuring it out, whether it's how to survive or how to keep the momentum up, so it's sort of a challenge and I guess I'm pretty athletic and up for it."