Elisha Cuthbert talks about cougar incident on Bonnie Hunt

24‘s Elisha Cuthbert was on The Bonnie Hunt Show today and spoke all about her incident with the cougar in 24 Season 2.

“The first job I booked in Los Angeles was 24 and that was after twenty four auditions. Because I remember getting the part and feeling so happy about it, and I thought how many auditions did it take to get here? And I’m counting out all the scripts and it was 24! Very weird. That’s my number.”

“I think I can do everything, but it kind of gets you in trouble. I was so ill and went to work, and there was a set animal, a mountain lion. And I got to work and I was so tired, I was sick between takes… It was going to be in the distance, they wanted me to meet the set animal and I was so sick. Put my hand out and it just leaped up and jumped on me and attacked me which was so insane. It actually bit my hand, it bit me, but the trainer pulled him back. He was a good cat but he still attacked me. So I was bleeding, they called the hospital. They said we got an actress coming in, she got mauled by a mountain lion on set. I’m bleeding from my hand, but it just so happens that when we’re filming that day, I have all this fake blood on me. I go into the hospital and they’re like “Oh my god! Get her on a gurney!” and I’m like “It’s just my hand, this is all fake!” And they didn’t believe me, they were like “No, she’s in shock!”

“I’ve kinda been back and forth. They call me when they need me and when it works. It’s been sort of a very organic process because I’ve started the show when I was eighteen, I’m twenty six now. It’s been a long time playing the same character. Just as much as she’s gotten older, I have too. So it feels like it’s been very natural.”