L i b r a i r i e . . .

E ! O n l i n e . . .

E l i z a  D u s h k u  :  O n  B u s t i n '  L o o s e ,  K i c k i n '  B u t t  a n d  S h a r i n '  t h e  P o w e r . . .

Good God, girl. Those are some serious cuts and bruises. And they look so real! Who did this to you?
[Laughs.] Who didn't do this to me? Everyone on this show has gotten a knock in. Faith has really been put through the ringer, but she's been dishing it out, too. Connor got a taste of me.

And Faith is getting out of the slammer. How has prison changed her?
Joss and I talked about that...She could've busted out of that joint. She really wanted to, but she and Angel developed this relationship, and he was leading her down the road to redemption and facing the things she's done. I think she's been getting it done, doing the time. I think she's still a tough girl, but she'll suppress her demons a little more. I think we'll see her teetering on the line of the old her and the new her.

Is it nice coming back for Buffy's big (and possibly last) hurrah?
That's one of the reasons I wanted to come back. We had word that the show was ending, and I always wanted to go back because Sarah and Joss and everyone are so creative and gave me so much to do. There's great chemistry and dynamics with the characters that we've established over the years. And I've always wanted to come back, but the timing wasn't right until now.

Was it easy jumping back into the role of Faith?
More fun than I thought it would be. It's been two years since I've been here, but I really fell back into this role. Which is a little scary, because my girl's crazy.

Yeah, but she's also a badass--one of the strongest female characters on television. It must be such a rush to play her.
Absolutely, especially because of the response that we--the show and the writers and me--have gotten. It's amazing how much young girls need and appreciate having this kind of outspoken female they can relate to and look up to and say, "Wow! If she can speak up and say no or stick up for herself..." I've had some amazing stories of girls saying, "If you can do that, I can do this," and it's like, Wow, this is TV versus their real life. And it's stunning it has that effect. There's nothing better than being a badass, and encouraging other girls out there to be badasses in their own right.

On a more personal note, rumor is you're celebrating some sort of big news with your boyfriend?
It's kind of under wraps. He's my boy right now, and we're celebrating some personal business. We're not married or nothin'! Everyone's gonna be like, "They're celebrating personal business--she's pregnant!" No! He's my best friend, he's my new stylist, his name is Roman Diaz, and he's great.