Mira Sorvino on her new "meaty" role in "Intruders"

Mira Sorvino says that in most of her roles she's played "a good egg."

But not this time, exactly.

Starting Saturday, Sorvino will portray Amy Whelan in the new BBC America series "Intruders" about a secret society committed to chasing immortality by seeking refuge in the bodies of others. Sorvino says her character's personality traits run the gamut -- from vulnerable to Machiavellian.

"When you meet me I'm obviously in some intense inner turmoil that I can't really talk much about but you see me exhibiting very strange behaviors -- an internal tug-of-war. And as the story progresses, some radical transformations occur. I have a really really meaty role with this incredible range of behavior, which is a great challenge and pleasure to play," Sorvino added.

Set in the Pacific Northwest, "Intruders" is an eight-part series that follows Jack Whelan (John Simm), a former LAPD cop with a troubled and violent history. He soon finds that the low-key, idyllic life he shares with his wife Amy (Sorvino) changes very quickly when she disappears.

"It's very chilling. It's very provocative and goes into deep psychological examinations of the characters," Sorvino said during a recent visit to CBS News. "But it centers around this concept of immortality. Parallel to the one percent that supposedly rule the world and has access to things that nobody else has, well, this one percent has access to living forever."

Throughout her career, Sorvino has taken on a range of characters, starring as the memorable Romy White in "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" and as entomologist Susan Tyler in "Mimic."

But it was her 1995 part in Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite" that landed her an Oscar for best supporting actress. In the comedy, Sorvino played Linda Ash, a prostitute and part-time porn star. Looking back, Sorvino took a chance on the film -- just for the opportunity to work with Allen.

"I had to turn down 'Hackers,' which I was offered the lead in -- which then Angelina Jolie did and she's a huge star," Sorvino said laughing. "But I was offered that the same week I was offered 'Mighty Aphrodite' and I had to turn it down in order to say yes to it. And 'Hackers' was the female lead. We didn't know what 'Mighty Aphrodite' was. But we were like, 'It's worth it. These scenes are great.' Then they handed me the script, I was reading it in their office for the first time...and I just started laughing out loud. I was so excited."

Up next? Sorvino is working a film called "Indiscretion" with her husband, actor Christopher Backus, with whom she shares four children.

"Intruders" premieres Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on BBC America.

Check out the video above to watch Sorvino reminisce about working with Robert Redford in "Quiz Show" and Ted Demme in "Beautiful Girls."