Actress blossoms

The part was a challenge. Not only because it was Grant's first time on television, but because the show — following Nancy Botwin, a widowed housewife on a quest to corner the suburban drug market — came rife with adult themes, sexual dialogue and a slurry of illegal drug references.

Grant was only a few months older than "Weeds' " youngest cast member, Alexander Gould. She was to play the lesbian daughter of Celia Hodes (Elizabeth Perkins), the town pain and a good friend of the Botwin family.

"I remember at our first table read, Alexander and I were sitting next to one another and they were making all of these adult jokes," Grant said in a phone interview last week from Los Angeles. "We would look and laugh at each other, but had no idea what they meant."

Now 14, Grant says she gets the gist of what's going on. She spoke to Caliente to promote the show's new season, premiering Monday.

Botwin is up to her old tricks in season four, building a new drug empire in a California beach town just north of the Mexican border.

Your character deals with as many adult topics as any of the other characters. Are you comfortable with everything they have you do? "To be offered a role like this and to have people think that I could handle a role like this is incredibly flattering. There aren't a lot of roles for kids my age that aren't saturated and stereotypical. To be offered this role of this troubled girl, who is involved in some adult-themed content is very cool to me.

"There were some things I didn't know if I'd be able to do. Last season, I had a scene where Alexander and I were smoking pot. But our director will always come to us and make sure we are comfortable with the scene. If we don't want to do it, they'll just cut it."

What do your parents think of the show? "My mom really likes the show. She always tells me, if there is anything I don't feel comfortable with that she will contact 'Weeds' and let them know. She explained it to me like this: This is an adult show. All the characters are adults. You just have to portray it like an adult. As long as I don't take any of the content home with me, there isn't an issue."

Favorite person on the set to work with? "I've had scenes with Elizabeth since day one. She is one of the greatest scene partners ever. She is so conscious of everything around her, so giving. All of the actors on the show are so talented."

Favorite character on the show? "That would be Celia surprisingly enough. In season one, they brought in her mother and she did to Celia what Celia does to Isabelle. Celia is so lost and troubled. She's got this demented mask she puts on to shield her flaws that she wants to escape from. There is a portion of her who wants to discover who she is. Her constant battle is pretty fascinating."

On TV

"Weeds" airs at 10 p.m. Monday on Showtime.