She's made a career for herself, channeling misfits and quick wits in box-office hits like Mean Girls. Now she's back to battle a different type of evil altogether, in the highly anticipated J.J. Abrams-produced monster smash.

Holy shit! All my eggs are in this one basket!” Lizzy Caplan remembers the revelation—and ensuing panic—that wrestled the 25-year-old actress from her sofa into casting calls. She hadn’t gone to college, hadn’t started acting until high school, and hadn’t given much thought to a future outside of Hollywood. In no time, though, the Los Angeles native landed her first major role as Janis Ian in 2004’s Mean Girls (and, along with it, a whole new demographic of admirers). Caplan then dabbled in television, channeling outsiders in critical darlings like “Freaks and Geeks” and “Once and Again,” where, once again, she moonlit as a lesbian (this time with stick figure Mischa Barton). Of her proclivity for impersonating outcasts, Caplan shrugs, “I’m just more interested in playing the sarcastic third-lead than some boring ingénue.”

She's in a new monster smash produced by a TV exec who revels in fake names and lost islands. It's poised to become the biggest studio feature of 2008, and still, the former freak (and geek) can't seem to catch a break.

Caplan, above, not in “Cloverfield.”

Lizzy Caplan won over the hearts of outcasts everywhere in 2004’s Mean Girls, when she opened her venomous mouth to explain, “Evil takes a human form in Regina George. Don’t be fooled, because she may seem like your typical selfish, back-stabbing slut faced ho-bag, but in reality, she’s so much more than that.” After the success of that film, the trained pianist went on to play a handful of misfits, quick wits, and eye-rollers in various short-lived TV series. Now, with the top-secret, J.J. Abrams-produced monster adventure ”Cloverfield” (not the film’s actual name, we’re guessing), Caplan is back to take on all sorts of scary beasts. This time around, however, they aren’t hidden beneath the lip-glossy veneer of high school cheerleaders and square-jawed football sleazes. Below, the rising star gets candid about losing roles, looking bad, and impersonating Jennifer Garner.