First impressions can be deceiving, especially in the case of Emilie de Ravin in the ABC series "Lost."

The actress seems fragile, almost waiflike.

At 5-foot-2, the 24-year-old Australian has the same gamine quality as Audrey Hepburn.

Like the legendary performer, de Ravin also was a ballet dancer.

Her upcoming movie role calls for her to portray someone with an inner strength.

In the new horror film "The Hills Have Eyes," based on the Wes Craven classic, de Ravin plays precocious teenager Brenda, who is angry that she's on a road trip with her family across the hot desert.

"I love well-done horror films," de Ravin said.

Director Alexandre Aja said it was difficult to find an actress who could play such an "extreme" part — "to be able to go from the normal life situation to the more extreme screaming, crying, being raped and being witness to murder."

What impressed Aja about de Ravin is that she auditioned three scenes back-to-back.

"In almost two seconds she was another character," he said.

Aja also liked her seeming fragility.

"She looks so tiny that you don't believe she has this inner strength inside her."

After landing a role as a teenager in the syndicated series "Beastmaster," which shot in Australia, De Ravin left home and moved to Los Angeles at 18 when she was cast as an alien in the short-lived TV show "Roswell."

"Lost" films in Hawai'i, but de Ravin hasn't moved, preferring to fly back and forth from Los Angeles to be with her fiance, actor Josh Janowicz.

In "Lost," de Ravin plays Claire, a single Australian woman who gives birth to a son shortly after the jetliner on which she was a passenger crashes on a mysterious island.

Though she turns 25 this year, de Ravin doesn't mind being being cast as a teenager in her upcoming films.

"It's fun playing Claire, who is quite mature for her age," she said.

"But it's fun going back and drawing from memory the things you would do and wouldn't do (as a teen)."