Constance Zimmer is the type of actress that always stands out in the roles she plays like powerhouse movie executive Dana Gordon on Entourage, all the way back to Claire Simms on Boston Eagle.

In October’s issue of Good Housekeeping on stands September 13, the UnREAL star struts around the streets of Harlem in some striking looks for Fall, and opens up about being typecast in tough women roles, taping UnREAL and improvising lines, and shares which character she’d be if she was on Everlasting.

HERE’S SOME:

On having ‘no idea’ why she constantly gets cast in tough women roles: “You know, I have no idea why I get cast as these kind of very rough, unfiltered, mean women, but I’ve always asked my directors and they say to me, “Well it’s because you’re not like that in real life.” You can’t play these super, super aggressive women if you are that already, because then it’s just one note. It has no color, it has no life underneath it. I think that’s ultimately where those women have heart and they shine from the inside out, because I can never be that cold no matter how hard I try, and so there’s always happiness and vibrancy brimming among those characters.”

On improvising lines while taping UnREAL and why she’s constantly apologizing to the cast: “They do allow me to improvise a little bit with Quinn, especially when I’m in front of the monitors and I’m yelling at the contestants or yelling at the host. It’s hard—as Quinn, I don’t want the cast to take anything I say personally. I find myself offering apologies a lot, I’m like, “It’s not Constance. Constance isn’t making up the lines, it’s Quinn making up the lines within the scene. I really like you; you’re very sweet and you look pretty!”

On which character she would be if she was on the fictional Everlasting: “I’m pretty sure that if I was a character on Everlasting I would rather be the flirt, because that’s what I was in high school. Or I would be… I say I’d be the villain, but I don’t really know if that’s true. I’d be like the goofball that everyone would say, “Oh Constance is over there, she’ll pratfall into anything. Probably I’d be that one.”

On keeping the spark alive in her marriage, and spending time together as a family: “My husband and I make sure that we find time for each other, whether it’s a dinner out or just staying home to talk and check in. It’s important to me that our daughter [Colette, 8] sees two working parents who can still stay engaged and be present. So we really do kind of make it a full circle with all of us, making sure that we all have enough time together.”

On her hidden talent—and trying to pass along lessons to her daughter: “I was a gymnast when I was 9. The other day I was giving my daughter cartwheel lessons and all of her friends were looking at me like, “How do you still know how to do a perfect cartwheel?” It’s just like riding a bike, it comes back just like that. Then I tried to do a one-handed walk over and that wasn’t as pretty. I still flipped all the way over, but it wasn’t pretty.”

On her style crushes—from magazine moguls to former child stars: “Anna Wintour. I think Anna Wintour would be my crush. But then there’s also like the Olsen twins who I think have been doing things in fashion since they were like little girls. And they’ve brought it in to their adult style which is super impressive because there is nothing that I wore ten years ago that I should ever wear again. I also really like Zooey Deschanel. I like her mixing of vintage clothing with retro with something that you could go buy in a store today.”

www.goodhousekeeping.com/constancezimmer