Mary Lynn Rajskub avoided arrest because of 24 fame

Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub has her fame from hit action show 24 to thank for helping her avoid jail after a police officer agreed to let her go, despite discovering she had a warrant out for her arrest.

The Julie & Julia star reveals she recently landed in trouble with a traffic cop after forgetting to register her car with the Department of Motor Vehicles, but she was saved from being hauled into custody when the officer recognized her from her role opposite Kiefer Sutherland, who plays counter-terrorism agent Jack Bauer.

She recalls, "The (cop) pulls me over and he says what (the warrant) is for and I'm like, 'Really?' and then he thought I was making fun of him so he was like, 'Get out of the car!' (But), then he recognized me, thank God, because it totally saved me from being put in the slammer for being a smart a**.

"(So) then he was like, 'Oh, you're that computer girl from that show. My friends call me Jack Bauer.' Thank God I held my tongue because inside I was like, 'Oh really? You mean you make your friends call you Jack Bauer?... You're not Jack Bauer'."