Remember Tiffani Thiessen who played Kelly on Saved by the Bell? Well, she’s now 35, happily married, expecting her first child, and plays Elizabeth Burke on White Collar. You can watch White Collar Fridays at 10:00/9:00 central on USA Network. In the meantime, enjoy this great interview with the very sweet and charming Tiffani Thiessen. She was so much fun to chat with.

What would you say to those that haven’t seen White Collar yet to convince them to watch?

Tiffani Thiessen: Oh gosh, well, besides having really cute guys on the show, it’s definitely the type of TV and movies that I like to see. I’m a huge fan of The Thomas Crown Affair and those kinds of feels of movies and shows and 48 Hours, which is so interesting, Catch Me If You Can, things like that. If people are really into those kinds of movies and those kind of story-telling, they have to watch this show. It is so absolutely entertaining. The characters are so rich and so fun to watch and follow.

As well as you see New York City in a completely different way. It’s shot in a beautiful way. It’s interesting, a lot of shows that are shot in New York City can be a little more dark and gray, and this show really, I think, kind of captures New York City in a really beautiful light, and it’s nice.

What made you want to be a part of this show?

Tiffani Thiessen: Ever since I read the script, which has been a little over a year ago now, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the characters. I fell in love with the show, and more and more, when the cast was brought together, the more excitement I had for the show and wanting to be a part of it. This is really the first time I feel like in my whole entire career which has been over 25, 26 years of doing this that I finally feel like I’m kind of playing a role a little closer to home for me, which is kind of exciting.

I think it’s more about myself and my own experience that I can bring to Elizabeth. She has this really solid wonderful marriage. I feel like I have that with my own husband. She’s career-driven, which I feel like I am. It’s all those things that you put towards a character like her that I feel that are definitely very much me.

You’ve been in the business for a long time since you were very young. If you weren’t in the entertainment business, what else would you want to be doing?

Tiffani Thiessen: It’s so funny. Last year when we did the pilot, we really didn’t know what Elizabeth’s character was going to do for a living. They had some ideas, and they kind of changed it, and then I had come to Jeff Eastin, our creator of the show and said, you know, it’s funny. I think it could work, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do if I wasn’t an actor. I’d always wanted to be an event planner, and I think it could work really well for Elizabeth’s character being that she’s in New York City. We could really show the city in a different light, and they loved it. I have to say funny enough, that was my idea, and that’s exactly what I would do if I wasn’t an actor.

I must tell you congratulations on your pregnancy!

Tiffani Thiessen: Thank you very much. It’s exciting news indeed.

As a first-time mother, how do you think it will play out balancing your roles and responsibilities of motherhood and your part on White Collar?

Tiffani Thiessen: You know, that’s a very good question in the sense that I really don’t know being that I am a first-time mom, so it’ll be a very different kind of thing for me being that I’ll be working and being a mother at the same time. There are millions of people who do it. My mom did it herself, so I know I can handle it, but it’ll be a very new experience, so it’s hard to say what is going to be like. It’ll be all brand new for me.

Do you know if your pregnancy will be incorporated into the show?

Tiffani Thiessen: I don’t know. That’s actually going to be up to the writers and the executive producers and USA and Fox and everybody involved. I’m going to be still somewhat not too pregnant along when we’re finally coming to the end of the season. We really don’t have too much more left, so it’s really up to them if they want to. I’m open to whatever they feel. We tried to time it to a certain degree so I wouldn’t show too, too much.

Have you decided on the baby’s name?
Tiffani Thiessen: We’re tooling around with a ton of names. We haven’t come up with anything solid yet. We do have some favorites, and I promise you, they’re nothing crazy. We’re very traditional people, me being from California and my husband from Texas. Yes, you’re not going to find any freaky names. I promise.

We’ve seen on the show that Neal has escaped from prison for love. What’s the most romantic thing a guy has ever done for you, and then maybe what is the cheesiest thing a guy has ever done?

Tiffani Thiessen: Oh, gosh. Well, my husband himself is definitely romantic. I mean, he is romantic almost every day whether it’s leaving me cute little notes somewhere throughout the house or the way he proposed to just the day we got married. He was amazing and romantic in everything he did, so I’m blessed to have a husband like that. The cheesiest, God, that would be really hard. I wouldn’t want to out anybody because I feel like anybody who wants to put themselves and their heart out there is a wonderful thing, and we shouldn’t put them down for it, right?

(I couldn’t help myself, I had to ask Tiffani about Texas pride!)

Sarah Eve: So your husband is from Houston, Texas.

Tiffani Thiessen: That is correct.

Sarah Eve: I am actually calling you from Houston, Texas.

Tiffani Thiessen: I love Houston. Houstonians are some of my favorite people.

Sarah Eve: That’s great to hear because I was going to ask you if he still has some of that Texas pride and if it’s rubbed off on you, which apparently it has.

Tiffani Thiessen: He seems to think that we’re definitely having a half-Texan, of course, and we visit Houston quite often because of my in-laws who I really, truly have the best in-laws in the whole entire world, and I know that has a lot to do with the fact that they’re Texans. He definitely has Texas pride. Like I said, we go back quite often, and I feel Texas is definitely my second state.

Sarah Eve: I love that. Thank you so much for answering my questions today.