Already, EW's It List has named Perabo as someone to watch because of her ''Coyote'' role: a sexy cocktail waitress at one of Manhattan's rowdiest downtown bars. ''She's a songwriter with stage fright, and the job requires her to get up on the bar and dance,'' Perabo says. ''It's her worst nightmare.''
And it's a nightmare the young actress can relate to. Like so many struggling performers, Perabo waited tables in New York City while working for her big break -- though she was lucky enough to do her brief stint at a posh Park Avenue watering hole. ''I was a bad waitress. Very bad,'' she admits. ''You have to wear heels and a dress and carry the tray over your head. I'm already clumsy, but once you add the heels and the full drinks... Let's just say I spilled A LOT of drinks. For a while, management was cool, but eventually they said, you need to learn what you're doing or you're fired.''
Before either could happen, though, Perabo landed the part of a rapper wannabe in the independent feature ''Whiteboys,'' a ''troubled teen'' drama released last year. Then came her roles in ''Bullwinkle'' and ''Coyote.'' And even though she's now off in Canada shooting her latest part, a rambunctious boarding school student in ''Lost and Delirious,'' Perabo is already aware of the Hollywood buzz. ''I feel like something's coming just around the corner, and I can't quite see it,'' she says. ''So I'm just happy to have my blinders on and be working on something else.''
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