RACHAEL LEIGH COOK JOINS NBC'S 'LAS VEGAS' AS POTENTIAL LOVE INTEREST FOR DANNY MCCOY

RACHAEL LEIGH COOK JOINS NBC'S 'LAS VEGAS' AS POTENTIAL LOVE INTEREST FOR DANNY MCCOY

BURBANK - July 12, 2005 - Rachael Leigh Cook ("She's All That," "Into the West") will recur as a guest-star on NBC's hit "Las Vegas" (Mondays, 9-10 p.m. ET) over an arc that will feature her as a beautiful local real-estate agent who becomes a potential love interest for casino surveillance expert Danny McCoy (series star Josh Duhamel).

The announcement was made by Gary Scott Thompson, the drama's creator and executive producer.

"Rachael's screen presence and natural appeal makes for an exciting match with Josh's character of Danny," said Thompson. "Her film work has always impressed me and we can't wait to begin filming her first scenes with our great cast of regulars."

Cook's episodes are expected to be broadcast early in the new Fall season.

A former teen model, Cook first gained attention for her performance in the feature film "She's All That" opposite Freddie Prinze Jr. Her other films include "Get Carter," "Blow Dry," "The House of Yes," "Living Out Loud," "Texas Rangers," "Josie and the Pussycats" and "My First Wedding."

On television, Cook recently appeared as Clara Wheeler in the hit miniseries "Into the West." In addition, she starred in the series "Head Cases" and appeared in the TV movies "True Women" and "Country Justice." Cook also provided the voice of Chelsea Cunningham in the animated series "Batman Beyond."

Earlier this month, NBC also announced that Lara Flynn Boyle would join the regular series cast in a recurring role as the flamboyant new owner of the Montecito Casino.

In "Las Vegas," Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominee James Caan ("The Godfather," "Misery") stars as Ed Deline, the head of the surveillance team for the Montecito Resort & Casino. With his protege, McCoy (Duhamel, "Win a Date With Tad Hamilton") an ex-U.S. Marine and Las Vegas native, they deal with card-counting cheaters, costly streaks of random luck and rival casinos stealing their big-money players. Rounding out this cast of high rollers is Ed's daughter, Delinda (Molly Sims, "Starsky and Hutch"), Mary Connell (Nikki Cox, "Nikki"), Mike Cannon (James Lesure, "For Your Love") and Samantha "Sam" Jane (Vanessa Marcil, "Beverly Hills, 90210"). Thompson ("The Fast and the Furious") also serves as executive producer along with Gardner Stern (NBC's "Law & Order," "NYPD Blue"), Justin Falvey ("Rescue Me") and Darryl Frank ("Into the West") for this series from NBC Universal Television Studio and DreamWorks Television.