Nov. 13, 1996 While most 11th graders worry about landing a part-time job at McDonald's, 16-year-old Jordana Brewster has already begun her career, starring on As the World Turns. Brewster plays Nikki Graves, the long-lost teenaged daughter of police detective Hal Munson. The actress recently chatted with The GIST.

Q: You and Ashley Williams [Dani] are really good friends. How did you feel about her decision to leave the show later this month?

A: I always knew that she wanted to have senior year off, but it is really hard for me. We've established a relationship, and it's easy to do the scenes. Mostly we have a lot of fun together at the studio. Sometimes when work is kind of hard or we're waiting for five hours straight and there's nothing to do, we just go to Starbucks and go up to the roof [of the CBS studio where ATWT is taped]. I hope we stay in touch.

Q: What's it like for you to see Ashley's sister, Kimberly Williams, starring in Relativity?

A: It's like watching Ashley. It's freaky. They have the same expressions and the same look.

Q: I know that you are committed to staying with ATWT through high school. But what are you going to do when it comes time for you to go to college?

A: I really don't know.

Q: How hard is it for you to balance school and work?

A: I just have to stay on top of things, and it's really difficult especially with courses like pre-calculus. I'm also taking French V, U.S. History, English and an art course.

Q: That's a tough course load in addition to working, isn't it?

A: I still have time to do normal stuff. I'm certainly not deprived. I'm not complaining.

Q: You're always talking about how much fun it is to work with Benjamin Hendrickson [Hal] because he is such a kidder. Has he pulled any pranks on you lately?

A: He psyched me out one day. I had this one line during the court scenes I had to jump up and yell 'Ryder's not guilty!' I felt like such a dork doing that. It was the tag shot [last shot of the scene], and I had to scream with all of these actors standing around me. I just had a really hard time, and Benjamin was like, 'Jump from your seat, and I'll kind of stop you and make you sit down. That will give you something to argue with.' So rehearsal comes, and I jump up and he doesn't stop me. He completely embarrassed me. When I realized he wasn't stopping me, I stopped halfway through the line. He's like, 'See Jordana, you were not thinking in character. You did not have your intent in mind. You were just going to trust me, and that just doesn't work.'

Q: Did you hit it off with your new love interest, Kerr Smith, right away?

A: It was kind of awkward. It is any time you're in a situation where you hardly know someone, and you're doing kissing scenes. Then I realized we could talk openly, and we did talk about Nikki and Ryder's relationship. The fact that we were so open with each other helped, and I realized that he really cares about his job and about the character. When you're working with someone who has the best interests of the show and of himself and of his career in mind, it's a really cool thing.

Q: As for future story lines, would you like Nikki and Ryder's relationship to continue?

A: I'd like to explore more levels of the relationship. I'd like to see Nikki go through something that all teenagers go through. I'd like to see something really dramatic happen. The whole thing with Robin and Stone [on General Hospital when he died of AIDS and she learned that she was HIV-positive], I thought that was so great and I thought Kimberly McCullough was so lucky to be able to play something like that.

Q: I still can't believe that you had to miss out on a part in Independence Day because ATWT wouldn't give you the time off to shoot it. Have you been going on other movie auditions? Maybe you could try out for Independence Day II?

A: Oohh [she groans]. I haven't been going on any other auditions lately. Maybe part of that is because I haven't gotten new head shots in a year. I haven't had time. But I really have to get my act together.

Q: With ATWT you've gotten a taste of fame. How do you stay so grounded, especially when you're only 16?

A: In order to lead a normal life, you can't let it get to you. You're going to think you're the greatest, then tomorrow you could lose your job.