The look may be a twist on the archetypal late-'80s Jersey girl, but Lola Glaudini really enjoys the transformation she undergoes for HBO's "The Sopranos."

"Most people think it's a joke, but I love the clothes," said Glaudini, who plays undercover FBI Agent Deborah Ciccerone. "I know it's over the top. But there's a side of me that grew up an Italian girl in New York that says, 'Yeah!'"

For Glaudini, the part is two roles in one: the tight-jeaned, sharp-nailed woman who befriends Adriana (Drea De Matteo) and convinces her to talk about the mob, and the buttoned-up FBI agent back at the office.

Glaudini, 29, the daughter of playwright-director Robert Glaudini, landed "The Sopranos" role in a roundabout way.

Agent Ciccerone was introduced to viewers in the third-season finale of "The Sopranos," but was played by Fairuza Balk. At some point between seasons - and for reasons not fully explained publicly - Balk was out and Glaudini was in.

Still, Glaudini's path didn't run smooth. Stuck on a movie set in Los Angeles, she got a call from her agent relaying the HBO series producers' interest in her. But there was a problem: Show creator David Chase was particular in wanting auditions to take place in New York. Unable to make the trip, Glaudini went to a casting-director friend and taped an audition that she sent to back East.

Glaudini, who had spent two seasons as a drug-addled administrative assistant on "NYPD Blue," soon was hired for "The Sopranos."

"Lola's very spontaneous and has a great sense of fun about her," said "NYPD Blue" star Gordon Clapp. "She has a great way of looking at things in a way that you wouldn't expect."

She may be a beauty, but Glaudini considers herself a character actress.

"It's hard for beautiful people to be considered character actors, but she's one who can handle that," Clapp said. "She has a great sense of madness and I think the key to being a good character actor is that sense."

She appeared in the first two "Sopranos" episodes this season - ending with a now-infamous scene in which Adriana vomits after hearing that she's let an undercover agent into the mob family - and she'll be on the next three.

As with everyone else on the show, Glaudini won't divulge plot details, but she did note that because her character's cover has been blown, she'll be sticking to the Agent Ciccerone persona from here on.

"I'm pretty proud of the work," she said from the set of her new gig on Fox's "Andy Richter Controls the Universe." "It's really great to be able to say that. Sometimes you do things and say, 'Oh, Jesus.'"

Still, while Hollywood casting agents are taking her a bit more seriously thanks to "The Sopranos," the heavy-duty makeover for the part has made it easier for Glaudini to remain undetected in public.

"I look very different than I do on 'The Sopranos,'" she said. "One of the joys of being an actor is being able to slip into the skin of these people, so when I slip into my skin, I don't have those issues. I can go to the supermarket at two in the morning in my flip-flops and who cares?"