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Juliet, oh Juliet, wherefore art thou? Ask that question of actress Elizabeth Mitchell and you’re likely to get a few different answers. If she’s at work, playing mysterious Dr. Juliet Burke on the ABC television series Lost, she’s in Hawaii. If she’s at home with her family (husband actor-comedian Chris Soldevilla and three-year old son CJ), she’s on another island in Washington’s Puget Sound. It might sound a little secretive, but isn’t that what Lost is all about? We’re just glad this island girl took the time to clue us in.

Q. What drew you to live in Washington?

A. I worked in Vancouver, B.C., a lot doing different movies and TV shows and I love the climate. I fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. My husband and I went to visit his father in Montana, and we were in a plane and looked down and saw the Puget Sound and Seattle, it was just beautiful. About six months later we ended up buying a house there.

Q. How much time do you spend at home in Washington?

A. Of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and as we all know, it’s the most beautiful place in the world to spend the summer; everything is in bloom, all the fruits and vegetables are out, salmon are spawning and it’s just amazing.

Q. How do you like to unwind?

A. I go on epic walks because I love how beautiful it is here and how clean the air is. When I’m home I enjoy a very quiet life full of books and fires—we live in an old house that doesn’t have electric heat, so we use a woodburing fireplace.

Q. Do you have a favorite Pacific Northwest destination?

A. Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls is the place that my husband and I spent our first couple’s night away from our son. That’s a place that makes me very happy.

Q. Do you get recognized around town?

A. I do, but it’s the Pacific Northwest so you run a close second to whatever book people are reading or what music they’re listening to. People are very kind. I generally look like the mom of a three-year old; a little bit tired with no make-up, and I get a lot of people who say, “You look just like ‘that girl’ on Lost.” That people would be unsure it’s me is always odd to me.

Q. What personal traits do you share with your character on Lost?

A. I like her calmness. I’m a fairly calm person and when things are going horribly wrong and people are screaming, I’m usually the one quietly trying to figure out how to fix things.

Q. The story is out about the Dharma Initiative on Lost experimenting with time travel—if you could really go back in time, where would it be?

A. Maybe this is just because I’m a kid at heart, but it would be very cool to see a dinosaur . . . there’s something about ancient history that is very enticing to me.