IN DA HOUSE ... Calgary-born Elisha Cuthbert moves from TV's 24 to the remake of House of Wax. HOLLYWOOD -- In the slasher horror flick House of Wax, Elisha Cuthbert gets to try her hand and vocal chords at being a big-screen scream queen. In the movie, opening Friday, she plays Carly -- one of six young people being stalked by a madman who intends to turn them into figurines in his demonic wax museum. There were times, especially last year, that Cuthbert, 22, wanted to scream as loudly in real life. Reports flooded the British press that Cuthbert was having an affair with Justin Timberlake. There were even pictures of her leaving Timberlake's London apartment on a weekend when his squeeze Cameron Diaz was filming one of her exotic travel features. "I have been dating Trace Ayala, Justin's personal assistant, for three years. That's how the British press twists the most innocent things," says Cuthbert, who now sports an engagement ring to show how serious that relationship is. "Trace proposed to me down in Australia when he came down to visit me while I was filming House of Wax. It was a huge shock. I didn't see it coming. Needless to say I cried," says Cuthbert who adds they took a mini-Australian vacation to celebrate their engagement. Cuthbert is a platinum blonde these days. "I dyed it for a little independent film called The Quiet that I also produced. I like the look so I'm keeping it for a while." Cuthbert gained international fame playing Kiefer Sutherland's daughter Kimberly Bauer for three seasons on the Fox real-time thriller 24. "I wasn't devastated being written out of 24. It was what I needed to happen for my career," insists Cuthbert. "I'd had two incredible years learning how to be quick and think on my toes, but I couldn't pursue a film career which was the whole reason I came to Los Angeles." Cuthbert began acting in film in Montreal when she was 12. She was born in Calgary, spent her formative years in Vancouver and moved to Montreal when she was 11. "The mother of a friend of mine is a casting director. She talked me into getting some head shots, shopped them around for me and I started getting work," says Cuthbert. Her big break came in 1997 when she was chosen to host the TV show Popular Mechanics for Kids. "They auditioned 400 girls. It came down to two of us. "Even though I flubbed all my lines at the final audition, they gave me the job because the producer liked my look. I pretty much owe my career to that show. I did it for three seasons." When Cuthbert graduated from high school at age 17 she talked her parents into letting her move to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. Before getting cast in 24, she played Randy Quaid's daughter in the TV movie Mail to the Chief, and had the lead in the TV drama Lucky Girl directed by Canadian filmmaker John Fawcett. Her post-24 films include Old School, Love Actually and the sex spoof The Girl Next Door, in which she played the title character, a porn star trying to end her career. In House of Wax, Cuthbert shares screen time and screams with pop celebrity Paris Hilton. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my apprehensions about Paris' involvement in the film," says Cuthbert, who was the first to be cast in this horror film from Joel Silver's Dark Castle Productions. "I was relieved when Paris arrived in Australia and was so excited about playing a character instead of just playing herself like she does on The Simple Life. "Paris really stepped up to the challenge of playing a real character. She is our Drew Barrymore from Scream. She uses her celebrity to bring people to the film and then surprises them with what she allows to happen to her." --

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