'Life Unexpected' Stars Shiri Appleby And Britt Robertson Bond As Roommates On- And Offscreen!

The years since “Roswell” have been kind to actress Shiri Appleby. Though she barely looks old enough to rent a car, the actress plays a thirtysomething radio host reunited with the daughter she put up for adoption at age 16 on The CW's “Life Unexpected.” If you haven't caught the show, which airs on Mondays after “One Tree Hill” in the “Gossip Girl” slot, Hollywood Crush advises you to start watching the heartwarming dramedy now.

A 31-year-old herself, Shiri told Popeater yesterday that she can relate to a lot of the everyday experiences her character, Cate, is dealing with — minus the whole being a mom thing, of course. And since Britt Robertson, who plays Cate's daughter, Lux, is 19, the same age as Shiri was when she shot the pilot for “Roswell,” Shiri can relate to her younger costar, too.

“She reminds me of what I was going through, the nerves and the fears,” Shiri told New York magazine. “A lot of things she's saying, I can say I totally relate: this is what happens; these are the feelings; this is how your friends are going to react; this is a perspective that worked for me and I hope will work for you."

There are quite a few opportunities for Shiri to dispense advice, since she and Brittany share a house in West Vancouver, where “Life Unexpected” is shot.

"I did a house swap with a friend, and it's a pretty big house, so I invited Brittany to live with me," she said to New York. "It's a little like having a little sister, sometimes it's like having a mom, sometimes it's like having a kid. Lately it's like having a teenager, 'cause she goes home every weekend. We hang out all week and then she disappears! I feel like a single mother."

Shiri's used to camaraderie on set — when she was working on “Roswell,” the short-lived drama “Freaks and Geeks” shot across the street.

“I’ve ended up working with a lot of those people, like Linda Cardellini on "ER", and obviously Seth [Rogen] and Jason [Segel] and James [Franco] are all doing really well,” she said to New York. “You see people over the years, you see people hit, and work, and you run into them at auditions, and you realize it is a very small community out there.”

Another person Shiri wouldn't mind working with: James Cameron. She's not actively searching for another sci-fi project, but she told Popeater that she'd do whatever the “Avatar” mastermind had in store.

“I mean, ...if James Cameron came calling, I would do whatever he wanted.”

Have you seen "Life Unexpected" yet? What do you think of the show? Are you a fan of Shiri's?

Tags Britt Robertson, Life Unexpected, Shiri Appleby