From "The Nanny" to "Californication": My interview with Madeline Zima...

Madeline Zima is really bad on Showtime's "Californication."

I'm not talking about her acting, of course. Her character, Mia Lewis, is a scheming Lolita who wreaks absolute havoc with David Duchovny's life. Madeline is so good at playing bad that I had no idea she was the same sweet girl who played Grace Sheffield for six seasons on "The Nanny."

"I couldn't believe when I got the role because I'm so different from the character," she said when we chatted few days ago. "I tricked everyone into believing I'm this sexy, destructive, ruthless person. It's amazing that I pulled that off. I've always played the sweet girl-next-door character. It's interesting to see the world through those kind of eyes for a little while. Anytime I have to say something rude, it's like, "Really?" But then I have to re-invest every week a new amount of non-judgment and leaving my own personal values at the door. She's so young still and doesn't fully understand the
consequences of her actions."

And her actions during season one, which becomes available on DVD on June 17, were jaw-dropping. In the very first episode, she seduces Duchovny's character of novelist Hank Moody by convincing him that she is a college student and not the worldly 16-year-old daughter of his ex-wife's fiancee. And just so he'll never forget their tryst, during sex she slugs him in the face.

"When I did the scene, I thought I was doing nudity one time. But every week in the recap, the punch is there," said the 22-year-old actress. "They made (the punch) look pretty good. I came dangerously close but I never connected with his mug at all."

Working opposite Duchovny (she later steals his recently-completed novel and passes it off on her own) has been a freeing experience creatively for the young actress who more than holds her own opposite the Emny winner.

"I'm like a little impish girl and play such a Goliath," she said. "It's so funny. I love working with David. He's so funny and brings such a relaxed and open attitude to the set. If you have an idea and want to improvise, whatever's funny goes. Everyone on the show is wonderful. I've never worked on such an amazing group of people - so creative and open and not stuck in one way of doing things. It's a wonderful blessing and a dream."

"Californication" could not be more different in content and tone than "The Nanny," the CBS sitcom starring Fran Drescher that ended its run in 1999. Her character of Grace was the youngest of three children being raised by their father (Charles Shaughnessy) and their nanny (Drescher).

"I was so young," she said of that gig. "I didn't really truly enjoy acting until I worked in later things, not until I was 12."

She hasn't seen the cast since the 2004 TV special "The Nanny Reunion: A Nosh to Remember." But some of them do keep in touch: "I see Nicolle (Tom) every now and again, we've always been close. I absolutely adore her. I went to Ben (Salisbury's) wedding and talk to Charlie on MySpace. But I haven't seen Fran since the reunion."

So how did Madeline - who has racked up an impressive resume of film and television credits in the near-decade since "The Nanny" - manage the often tricky transition from child star to adult actress?

"I guess persistence and hard work," she said. "There's no such thing as an overnight success, just people doing what they love and never giving up. I just never gave up."