Heather Graham is not what many would picture as a "big nerd." Yet that's what the willowy blonde actress, who has joined the cast of "Californication" for its seventh and final season, calls herself on her Twitter profile. And as she told TODAY on Thursday, it's no mistake.
"When you grow up, how you see yourself as a teenager or kid, you're always going to feel that way about yourself," she said. "You know inside that you're just a big nerd."
As she revealed, as a girl she had reason to be a little self-conscious about her looks. She had to wear serious headgear to correct her teeth, a contraption she said resembled the one worn by Joan Cusack's character's in "16 Candles."
"When I was in elementary school, I had neck gear," she admitted. "Braces ... I had it over the neck, so there's like a rubber band and it pulls your teeth back, and it's like a wire thing and it goes out of your mouth. ... So that's very nerdy."
She ended up with lovely teeth, however, and being a nerd didn't prevent her from landing a good Hollywood career. But for now, though, there's not much she can say about her "Californication" role — though she did offer a broad tease: "In the first episode (of the new season), they reveal that (David Duchovny's character) has a son he's never known about," she said. "So I'm in the next episode."
Fans won't have to wait long to find out more. "Californication" airs on Showtime Sundays at 9:30 p.m. ET.
And here's just how that "big nerd" felt about her TODAY visit: