Tina Majorino Talks to Movieline About The Deep End and Moving Away from Niche Roles

Tina Majorino's career is like a dissertation in ways to go niche. Her most famous films have attracted ardent devotees (Napoleon Dynamite, and the most expensive cult favorite ever, Waterworld), and her most notable TV roles have their own fanatics (Veronica Mars, Big Love). Now, on the cusp of starring in her first glossy network drama The Deep End (which premieres tonight on ABC), Majorino finds herself appealing to her largest demographic yet. The 25-year-old actress talked to Movieline about this step forward in her career and how she's ready for a TV show that more people don't "hate."

Majorino believes The Deep End's Addie, a young lawyer whose naivete all but glistens, is the rightful next step in a career full of innocent roles.

"I've tended to play the outcast. I don't know, more nerdy types," Majorino said. "It's nice to be able to play someone different. It's nice to be a part of something knowing that more people are going to see it; you don't have to have a specific opinion about something in order to connect with the show. With some of the other projects I've done, it seems like either people love them or hate them. So this is fun."

But is it a new frontier? Deb from Napoleon Dynamite and Mac from Veronica Mars were glum kids, and her Deep End role at first seems like more of the same. Majorino says we have to keep watching to see how the character signifies an anomaly in her oeuvre and a big change in her own life.

"Here's the thing. The great part about this role is that Addie comes out of [her innocence]," she said. "Addie starts out as completely naive and green and just not knowing up from down, but she evolves and gets tougher. I think as I get more of that ability in my personal life, I will be able to portray it in my characters."