Lead roles in ER and CSI have made Jorja Fox one of the most envied actresses in Hollywood.

There are three reasons why Jorja Fox particularly enjoys her job - and they all involve staring opposite Hollywood hunks. First there was George Clooney, then Rob Lowe and now there’s Gary Dourdan. “Believe me, there’s no such thing as a bad day when you’re going to work with those guys,” she laughs.

After playing Dr. Maggie Doyle on ER, and Special Agent Gina Toscano in The West Wing, Jorja is now the ambitious forensic investigator Sara Sidle, in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. With the show knocking both Friends and ER off the ratings’ top spot in America, it means that she has starred in three of the biggest US TV hits of the last decade. And most importantly, she’s had gorgeous co-stars in all of them. CSI’s Gary Dourdan, who plays Warrick Brown, was in a recent poll of the 50 sexiest men in the world.

“I know, I know, I’m a lucky girl,” she grins. “Gary is totally drop-dead gorgeous. Even now, two-and-a-half years into making the show, we’ll be doing a scene and I’ll look him in the eye and go to pieces. But,” she shrugs, “I’ve had crushes on most of the guys I’ve worked with.”

It’s disarming to hear an actress confess so freely - a Hollywood actress at that. But while Jorja, 34, may be a hot name, she’s just one of the girls. and up for a good gossip. Forget bottled water, she swigs a beer and smokes a cigarette, her legs up on the sofa.

“Crushes” on your co-stars?

“Oh yeah, I’ve had serious crushes on a couple,” she says. “And I’ve told them. But it’s difficult to go for it if you’re going to be working togeather for a long time.”

Her co-stars (even with their looks) would have a job pinning Jorja down anyway. “I’m not keen on being settled,” she admits. “Even though I liked the idea of true love, I can’t completely believe in the idea of being with the same person for my entire life.”

She’s also of two minds about having children. “Theoretically, I’m maternal,” she says. “But not while I’m working the way I am. Anyway, they say 50 is the new 30. Our generation’s taking a little longer to grow up.”

Born in New York, Jorja moved with her parents, Edward and Marilyn, to Florida when she was three. She grew up in Melbourne Beach, surfing and going by the nickname of Foxy.

“I was a chubby kid with buckteeth - i could fit a quarter between my two front teeth,” she smiles. “Still, my mum went out and got Foxy Girl T-shirts for me to wear. I was not foxy at all.”

Even so, she was “spotted” at a model-search competition and spent her late teens on the catwalks of Europe. But determined to act, she worked in bars, as a waitress, in kennels and got TV bit parts until landing the role of Maggie Doyle in the third series of ER. She moved on to do The West Wing, starred in the film Memento with Guy Pearce, and then CSI came up.

With over 23 million American viewers, CSI is building an impressive fan base here too, and is the highest-rated drama on Five. Kings of cool Samuel L. Jackson, Quentin Tarintino and Kevin Spacey all reckon it’s their favourite show. “CSI feels special because I was in it from the start, when no one knew if it would take off.”

With stories of decomposing corpses and bodies attacked by vultures, the subject matter is not for the squeamish. It’s also hard for Jorja given that she lost her mum six years ago, aged 69, to ovarian cancer.

“Losing her and being in CSI has made me think there’s a very thin veil between life and death,” says Jorja. “Maybe that’s why I’m such an optimist. I don’t worry about the future because it wastes the time you’re in. I’d much rather be in the moment, enjoy each day, and do things that make me feel good. I’ve got a lot to be happy about.”