Raver juggles a busy schedule

Kim Raver's a survivor.So far, the actress -- who seems to have a thing for numbers -- has made it through five years of the gritty police drama "Third Watch" and two seasons and counting of ramped-up thriller "24."

Now she's starring in "The Nine," the ABC drama about a group of strangers inextricably united as survivors of a grueling hostage situation after a botched bank heist.

Raver will return to "24" . But first she will have to find some time off from "The Nine," where she plays Kathryn Hale, a tough, driven assistant district attorney. Kathryn is drawn after the tragedy to another survivor, police officer Nick Cavanaugh, played by Tim Daly.

Over the course of the season, the serialized "Nine" is revealing what transpired during the hostage crisis. But Raver says the show's creators have been careful not to withhold too much information and risk alienating viewers.

"I totally get that: You keep stringing someone along, they're gonna get [angry] if you don't tell them what's going on. I think they're definitely aware of that and dealing with that. And I think it's great that we've had those shows preceding us to point out what are the pitfalls, what should we stay away from, how do we be careful about that?"

Before "The Nine," Raver was able to squeeze in time to make an upcoming holiday film, "Night at the Museum," in which she gets to show off her lighter side. She stars alongside Ben Stiller, who plays a security guard at New York's Museum of Natural History, where all the displays come to life at night.

"Thank God!" is Raver's response to landing a comedic role after so many intense ones. "It was so huge for me. People start to see you a certain way, and there's such a wacky, kooky side to me."