By Thomas Chau in Vancouver, B.C.

"So where in West Virginia are you from?" asks a humble and cheery Jennifer Garner. Despite a rigorous physical shoot in the woods of Vancouver Canada, Jennifer manages to have a quick chat with me after a Q&A session with the visiting comic book/sci-fi press.

"I'm from Williamson," I reply. That instantly begins a friendly five minute chat about our hometowns;, a conversation that feels as familiar as home itself.

If observing her for a day allowed me to determine anything about her, then it is that fame and fortune has had little effect on this girl from the Applachians. Jennifer has an enthusiasm and interest in her work which drives her to excel at everything she does. Whether it's swinging punches, using a staff, tsais, or even a bow and arrow, she'll do everything for her character and lucky for us guys out there, that character is Elektra Nachios.

Below is an interview conducted in Vancouver while I was visiting the set back in the summer. By the way, that West Virginia conversation ended with me walking away nervously from her when I ran out of things to say. Sorry for being a dork, Jennifer. You just have that effect on men...

Q: Your character in “Alias,” Sydney, has her own issues but Elektra seems to be the darkest character you’ve played. Can you talk about that?

JENNIFER: Elektra is lethal. In “Daredevil,” it was somebody who was on the verge of being lethal, who was surprised to find herself vulnerable to someone. Once her father is killed, and this is true in the comic books and in the films as well, there is no life for her in the world anymore. I think when she’s younger and in college, she kind of had an ideology the same as Matt Murdock’s. She feels like she wants to make the world better, and the second her father is killed, everything changes for her. This is kind of my Frank Miller understanding of it. I’m sure you guys know more about it than I do. Everything changes and she goes to such an incredibly dark place for her. Clearly, she almost dies but is resurrected and when Stick kicks her out of the only home that she believes she has left in the world, she uses her skills to become an assassin. That is what she is. She’s a mercenary. She is out for blood. She could care less who you are, what you do, where you come from, and I have to say, I love that about her, because I feel like she’s been driven to it and she’s hiding behind her own soullessness. And she uses it to isolate her completely and emotionally from the world, and physically from the world. Because she’s so bad, I think she doesn’t get off on it in like a cool serial killer way, I think it’s all she has to survive. This is something that can define her and she’s indefinable. At this point she has nothing. She doesn’t have her father, she doesn’t have her sensei, she doesn’t have Matt, so, to me, this particular story is about her not being able to deny her need for her own redemption. And it comes up and smacks her on the face, much like falling for Matt Murdock did. Except I think this is much more of a surprise and it’s much more of a twist and it’s something that she fights a lot harder than she fought when falling for Matt.

Q: What’s the transition like to go from a supporting character to a main character?

JENNIFER: It’s been a scary one, to be honest. I’ve really missed hiding behind a big, red devil. (laughs) Because I could be his antithesis and how do you play someone whose only mission is to kill? And how do you love her for yourself? I so wanted to do this movie because I so loved this character. I so love that as much as she fights against her own re-entry into the world, her own heart opening up after years and years of just being completely closed off, she loses the battle with herself. And she falls for a younger version of herself, Abby, and ultimately opens herself, at least in part, even though I think the love of her life is Matt Murdock. For that shift to take place is so huge.

But Rob has been the guiding force for me in finding a way to make her whole and make her hold up scene after scene after scene. Believe me, we spend a lot of time [asking] “Is she lethal enough?” My propensity is when you say cut and I giggle between takes and I can carry that into what I’m doing. And we say, “No wait, stop, go back,” and I say “Rob, did I look nice at all?” And he says “Yeah, do it one more time.” So I feel really lucky to have a partner like Rob.

Q: Can you describe your experiences with the comic book fans? Have they been positive?

JENNIFER: Yeah! I’m lucky that the color of my costume is the toughest I’ve ever got. People don’t come up and go “You sucked as Elektra! You should have been Greek! I hate you!” They might say that behind my back, but my experiences have been really, really positive, which has only made me enjoy the world more.

Q: Do you have a favorite Elektra story and are any of those elements in the film?

JENNIFER: I loved when she’s at Stick’s camp and she’s bald in the comic book. He calls her over and she has this huge smile on her face, and she says, “What can I do? I’m ready. Send me on a mission.” And he says “Just get out. We don’t want you here.” She’s so unaware of the fact he sees evil in what she does, or harshness, or lack of good at all. She’s so crest-fallen and you can see the change of character as she walks away. For me, that’s such a huge turn in her character and we actually have that exact moment in the movie although I won’t be bald. We have that exact scene in the movie and I’m really looking forward to playing it. I also love in “Elektra and Wolverine” where Garrett comes in and it ends up being Mark Miller.

Q: What's it like working with [director] Rob Bowman?

JENNIFER: The great thing for me is that we both know both worlds. He can shoot as quickly as a TV director and know what he needs, and see in his mind “Ok, here is the canvas of the day, this is what I need to get. What is the fastest, most expedient way to move the camera and get the performances that I want to get and protect what I need to protect?” At the same time, his mind thinks like the hugest movie director you’ve ever seen. He sees shots as though there’s nothing involved, no cameras involved, and then finds a way to make it happen. His facility of language between dealing with the cameras, the DP, the action, is absolutely met with his ability to talk to me one-on-one, take-to-take. You know sometimes I’ll say “How was that Rob?” between takes and he’ll be like “If I don’t say anything then it’s fine.” And I’ll say “It’s more fun if you come and mess with me about it. Let’s fight about it a little bit.” And he will come up with something that is so subtle and genius and on the mark and different from what I was doing, and I’ll say “Way to go director!” And then I can see him get jazzed. We’ve had a really, really good time and we’re now at that magical point in the movie where he’s kind of looks at me and I go “Don’t even say anything! I’ve got it.” It’s what you wish for with every director and, luckily, I have.

Q: You get to kiss another woman in this movie. Can you talk about the kissing scene between Elektra and Typhoid Mary?

JENNIFER: I love the role of Typhoid Mary. Rob just made it so amazingly visual, you know, as she walks by and there’s all of these guys around her, and there’s no question that she has evil breath. And, you know, I’d have to say it’s the first time I’ve ever kissed a girl. I didn’t object it, I didn’t really think about it much either way. When the time came it was just a kiss. It was totally, completely fine. We’d just talk about our sisters or talk about, you know, “Oh wait you’ve got a hair stuck here” and I think it’s the only person on screen I’ve kissed where I’m making sure her lipstick is straight and then we’d actually kiss, they’d say “cut” and we would laugh and get on with it. It was nothing to speak of.

Q: Do you enjoy the experience of taking time out from action to doing a romantic comedy like “13 Going on 30” and then going back to something like “Elektra”?

JENNIFER: Yeah, I think the whole point of being an actress is to do different things, and so far I’ve been lucky that I haven’t been stuck somewhere. I think, probably, that’s how more you would see me, but this is what I’ve become known for originally thanks to “Alias.” So it’s let me bop around, at least so far, a little bit more. I loved that experience. But I have to admit; there was a moment last summer [on “13 Going on 30”] where I was like (bangs her hands on the table impatiently) “…and?” (laughs)

Q: Are you worried that people will compare this film to “Kill Bill” or any other comic book movies that come out?

JENNIFER: I’m sure they will. I welcome it. I think it’s fascinating and interesting and they’ll have things and we’ll have things.

Q: Was it important for you to get the red costume right in this movie for the fans?

JENNIFER: It’s also that I’ve read the comic books and most of the time she’s in red. She does wear the black and the black is faithful to the comic books, but she is known for the color red. But no, it is important to me and it has been mentioned to me enough that I knew it was important to the “Elektra” fans. It is a pretty cool wardrobe.

Q: You and Goran Visnjic both have hit TV shows. Do you ever talk about that experience?

JENNIFER: Yeah of course we do. It’s funny because we both refer to our shows as “work.” We go “So when are you going back to work?”, as though we’re just hanging out at camp.

Q: If you could have one superhero power, what would you choose and why?

JENNIFER: Metabolism.

Q: Will there be an “Elektra and Wolverine” movie?

JENNIFER: Can we just please! [Laughing] I’m only halfway done here!

"Elektra" opens in theaters January 14th.