Zooey Deschanel is known for her unique, off-beat characters and her role as Kit in “Failure to Launch” is no exception. The 26-year-old ingénue can be seen in this weekend’s “Failure to Launch” opposite Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. She plays Paula’s (Parker) sarcastic, frustrated roommate who finds that her own life is affected after Paula’s “experiment” with a grown man named Tripp (McConaughey) becomes more than just a way to get him to move out of home from his parents.

Below, Zooey talks about her role in the film at a recent press day in New York.

Q: How was it to play this sassy, sarcastic best friend character?

ZOOEY: It was fun.

Q: The best friend character, or second lead, can become sort of a stock character in a romantic comedy but your role is a bit different from what we’ve seen. Was that the attraction to it?

ZOOEY: It was pretty well developed which is why I was attracted to it. Usually, I get a romantic comedy and I’m like “Uh, nooooo thank you.” This one, I really thought the character was funny and interesting and well-developed and very unique, not very specific and had very distinct personality traits which are more than what you can with most of the second lead in romantic comedies. Also, I like the fact that they weren’t really friends. They were roommates out of necessity. Kit is kind of abrasive and difficult in many ways so she doesn’t have very many friends. Paula has a very unusual job so they tolerate each other’s idiosyncrasies. In the end, it turns out they have affection for each other but it’s not so much that they like each other. We talked a lot about that.

Q: Do you identify with her in any way or do you feel like you have to identify with a character?

ZOOEY: I don’t actually feel like you have to identify with a character. I don’t have a lot in common per se with her but I do feel like you have to have a tremendous amount of affection for a character. I can’t play a character unless I sympathize with them and don’t judge them. Those are the main things. Even if you’re playing a serial killer, you have to refrain from judging them. Otherwise, it’s going to come across as smugging, like “I don’t really think like this. I’m just an actor.” Wink, wink.

Q: Why do you think she’s unhappy all the time?

ZOOEY: I think she has a very low tolerance for frustration and she’s constantly thrown into very frustrated situations which is where the comedy comes from because you didn’t see this situation as frustrating and don’t know how she’s going to react, and then see her to react to it. I just think she has a really bad day, every day.

Q: The movies you tend to do are really different from “Failure to Launch.” Do you tend to stay away from romantic comedies?

ZOOEY: No, not at all. Normally they’re pretty underwritten and thin and I don’t really like them. But this one, I really enjoyed because I think it’s more than just a romantic comedy. I love screwball comedies because they’re really well-developed and all the supporting characters have real lives. It’s actual storytelling instead of flimsy. I don’t think [“Failure to Launch’] is like that at all. I think this is much closer to that Howard Hawk model of screwball comedy than a romantic comedy. I just thought it was very clever. As an actor, it’s my goal to stretch myself as much as possible and not limit myself by playing one specific type of person.

Q: With your busy schedule, do you get a chance to watch your sister’s TV show, “Bones”?

ZOOEY: Of course! Wednesday nights, “Bones,” after “American Idol.” (EDITOR’S NOTE: “Bones” will be moved to 8 pm Wednesdays beginning March 12th.)

Q: Now that she’s hit it off with T.V., do you have any sibling rivalries with each other?

ZOOEY: No. I couldn’t be more excited for her. We’ve never been competitive because we’re really different actors and we’re attracted to different things. She’s older than me and she graduated school and had her own set of things she was doing and I’m a dropout. I dropped out of college. She’s been in LA for a while, doing good work, and this is sort of a culmination of all that work she’s been doing. I’m just so proud to see it. The work on her show is so amazing and I love it.

Q: I got really upset though when they moved it opposite “Lost.”

ZOOEY: Oh really? Well Tivo. C’mon!

Q: Well, what do you Tivo?

ZOOEY: I only watch that really. I don’t really watch TV. Were I to Tivo something, it would probably be makeover shows or something. I love makeover shows.

"Failure to Launch" opens in theaters March 10th.