When "Six Feet Under" creator Alan Ball couldn't find an unknown actress to fill a new role on his HBO series, he turned to a more established thespian whose career he helped launch. Mena Suvari will do a six-episode stint on the Emmy-winning drama.

In 1999, Suvari co-starred in "American Beauty," which Sam Mendes directed from Ball's script. The Oscar-winning film opened doors for both the actress and writer. Suvari picked up a Screen Actors Guild award as part of the film's talented ensemble, while Ball won a screenwriting Oscar.

"I'm thrilled because Mena is an extraordinarily talented and extraordinarily disciplined actress, and I just think she can do anything," Ball tells The Hollywood Reporter. "In 'American Beauty,' that was a very tough role, much tougher than it may seem like on the surface, and in the work I've seen her do since, I think she's got tremendous range."

Suvari will join the funeral home drama as an art student who befriends Lauren Ambrose's Claire.

"She's very independent, very self-motivated, very edgy and in a lot of ways more grown-up than she should be, considering how young she is," Ball says of Suvari's character. "She and Claire influence each other both artistically and personally."

While she played a rose-colored illicit fantasy girl in "American Beauty," Suvari's resume shows a willingness to abandon any pretense of movie-star glamour. For every "American Pie" or "Sugar and Spice" in her background, there's a grittier film like "Nowhere," "Sonny" or the recent crystal meth epic "Spun."

Prior to concentrating on her film career, Suvari also did a variety of television guest starring parts, appearing on "Boy Meets World," "ER" and "Chicago Hope" among other series.