When "House" star Lisa Edelstein toasts to the New Year, she wants to be as far from the Champagne as possible, she revealed to Niteside Monday night.

“Chanukah was awesome, Jewish New Year's was fantastic, but I'm going to avoid the other New Year's because I'm afraid of drunk people,” Edelstein quipped on the red carpet at the David Lynch Foundation's second annual “Change Begins Within” benefit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“I just really am afraid of drunk people. I think that they're really loud and that they drive badly. So I do whatever I can on New Year's to avoid it.”

The actress said she's spent many New Year's Eves in New York City, but that's not the only place where belligerence takes over the streets on Dec. 31.

“I've spent it in deserts. I've spent it on mountains. But I haven't quite yet found a way to ignore it,” she said of New Year's boozehounds.
Instead, Edelstein, who plays hospital boss and Dr. House's love interest Cuddy on the wildly popular series, said her New Year's plans are up in the air.

“I'll be traveling. I think I'll be flying on New Year's Eve,” she said. “I hope the pilot doesn't drink. “

Edelstein strolled the red carpet with her yoga teacher, Eddie Stern, who is very involved with the David Lynch Foundation. The organization brings yoga and meditation to underprivileged children, the homeless, war veterans, and other people who would benefit from stress-reduction.

Katy Perry, Russell Brand and Dr. Mehmet Oz were also featured guests of the night, who spoke about the benefits of meditation on behalf of the David Lynch Foundation.

Elle dit qu'elle aimerait rester aussi loin du champagne que possible pour le nouvel an. Elle dit que Chanukah est super mais qu'elle voudrait éviter les autres nouvel an parce qu'elle est affrayé par les gens qui boivent.
" Ils conduisent mal donc j'essaye d'éviter les nouvel an."
Lisa dit qu'elle a passé beaucoup de nouvel an à New York mais pas seulement. Egalement dans le désert, dans la montagne... Elle voudrait voyager et prendre l'avion pour le nouvel an et elle rajoute " j'espère que le pilote ne boit pas " ^^

Hi Lisa. What do you and the cast of House have planned for the holidays? Is there an office party?
We’re going to be off. We stop taping at the beginning of December and we’ve had holiday parties in the past but I don’t think we’re having one this year.

I was envisioning Hugh Laurie dressed as Santa handing out presents to the crew.
Definitely not. That would never happen but you hold onto that fantasy.

I will always. After teasing Cuddy and House’s romance for seven seasons, your characters finally consummated their relationship. The consummation of several longstanding television flirtations has marked the point where certain series jump the shark but House has avoided that. Why do you think that is?
Well, why do you think that is?

Cuddy and House always have that push and pull, cat and mouse dynamic to their relationship. Even when they are “together,” there is tension. What is most interesting to me though is that House fans are so loyal that they did not seem to get annoyed with that long waiting period.
[Laughs] Well first of all, I think the phrase “jump the shark” has jumped the shark. I read it in every article and I think that when Fonzie actually jumped the shark, Happy Days was on the air for another five years. But I will say this. I don’t think our show is about House and Cuddy. It is about House and his trials and tribulations and his inability to cope while having an incredible ability to solve problems. Giving him a relationship is an important part of that journey and this one has been building for many years and it was time to explore it. To me, since it is not the centerpiece of the show, it’s OK to explore because it is just another aspect of House as he goes through life.

Even though it is not the centerpiece of the show though, there is so much critical analysis of every twist and turn in their relationship. It’s almost like people are documenting a royal couple or something. Do you feel like people are unhealthily attached to this fictional relationship?
A royal couple! That’s funny. I do think that people get really emotionally involved in the TV shows that they love and I think that is fantastic. Of course they are going to have opinions. The other thing is that people project onto their television shows. They see a character and layer on many traits that are actually their own or their idea of what that character is. They get insulted if they see the character do or say something that they don’t agree with. It’s interesting but I’m just happy that people are involved. I don’t care if they love it or hate it, I’m glad that they care one way or the other.

Do you ever get creeped out looking at homemade “Huddy” tribute videos on YouTube?
[Laughs] I haven’t spent too much time looking at them but there are some very talented editors out there!

Has there been a long-term television romance that you found yourself becoming emotionally involved in as a viewer?
I don’t think I did that as a grown-up. When Luke and Laura dated in General Hospital when I was a kid, I was very excited. And that was a rather pathetic relationship if you break it down because let’s face it: he raped her…and then they got married. There’s all kinds of things that TV does to relationships.

Right. Well House and Cuddy never dealt with sexual assault but they still have an interesting dynamic. Why do you think that Cuddy still chooses to accept House in spite of all of his eccentricities and difficulty?
I think she made a conscious decision to embrace her feelings for this man. She needs to live it out and find out what it is. There are some things in life that you can just dance around but ultimately you’re going to have to go through it to get to the other side. And on the other side, that relationship becomes a permanent part of your life or it is a growing experience that helped you move in a new direction.

How does the dynamic on set change when House brings in a new actor for a recurring role, like it did this season with Amber Tamblyn?
Well, Amber is amazing and has been acting since she was about an inch old. She is very confident and witty and intelligent. She is a blast to be around and a perfect addition to the cast. I really hope that she stays but I have no idea what is in store for her. Unfortunately I don’t have many scenes with her. The women of House never get to spend that much time together.

Why is that?
I don’t know but I’ve had very few scenes with Jennifer [Morrison]. Very few scenes with Olivia [Wilde] and now very few scenes with Amber.

They should have an all-female House special, like on Saturday Night Live. The ladies could all duck out of Princeton‑Plainsboro to go to a bachelorette party or on a Thelma & Louse-type road trip.
[Laughs] That would be amazing!

People complain about being tired of their careers but as an actor, you are in an interesting position of making a career out of infiltrating other careers on-screen. Are you tired of posing as a doctor after seven seasons of House?
I love my job. I have been working professionally since 1990 and I worked even before that in the late 80s. But this job is a true blessing. It’s incredible writing, incredible people. I would never for one second speak badly about it or take it for granted.

Do you still find yourself learning as an actress on House even this deep into the show?
Definitely. It never stops. On this show, I really feel like I got the opportunity to mature in what I do. I still can’t really watch myself but I feel more confident.

Why can’t you watch yourself?
Sometimes I’ll try to watch a little and just watch the episode quickly but it’s hard to be kind to yourself. You can’t control that criticism either. If you don’t like the lighting or you don’t like your outfit or you don’t like your performance, there is no changing it. It is there forever.

Has this been the case your entire career?
Well, I had one bad experience this year watching myself so I have kind of laid off.

Do you remember the scene?
Oh it doesn’t matter. Aging on camera is just very hard. I love my age. I feel good about myself but high definition television is not kind. You don’t even look like yourself in high-def. It just makes every little line on your face more exaggerated so it ends up aging you. It’s like you’re watching yourself seven years older. It’s really cruel to women in particular and if seeing that is going to make me insecure, I am just going to stop watching. I love what I do and I don’t want to make myself feel like I shouldn’t be doing it.

Are you worrying about that while shooting a scene?
No, you can’t afford to do that. I like how I look in person but it’s sometimes harder to see yourself in a different medium like high def, especially if you are in a sensitive place like you’re pre-menstrual that day. Just don’t watch.

It’s like that 30 Rock episode —
Wait! I didn’t see it. What happened?

Liz Lemon steps in front of a high definition camera and is all of a sudden covered in warts and wrinkles.
That’s what it is really like! I got so sad watching myself that day, it is not worth it. I just have to do my job and let it go.

Lisa Edelstein: I think the average person stays at the same job a hell of a lot longer than we do in this industry. Normally we are in and out of there in a few days or weeks…maybe months if you’re lucky or at most, and most rarely a year or two. Seven years and counting is practically unheard of. This show hopping makes for a bit of a traveling carnival type social atmosphere, with short, intense friendships and relationships that are over when the gig is up. So being together for all this time has been an incredible treat. What makes it even more special is the people themselves. We are staffed by incredibly funny, twisted, smart writers. The actors I get to work with are remarkably talented and hard working. I could have been stuck on a dumb show with nightmare drama queens but instead I landed my dream job.
...
LE: If Wilson is House’s conscience, then Cuddy is his boundary maker.
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LE: Well, first of all, it’s a show about Dr. House who, brilliant as he is, really struggles though life. I think this storyline is just an extension of that. The tension between him and Cuddy has been kicked around for quite sometime and I think it would get tiresome if it didn’t change. And perhaps change again. There are no happy endings on this show. Just long, slow, interesting and disastrous bleeds.
TM: ... You’re a very talented actress who has only recently really started to get the accolades you deserve—where do you see your career heading over the next few years?
LE: Thanks for that. Right now I’m starting to look into projects that I’d like to produce as well as be in. I haven’t done that since my play, 8 billion years ago, and it’s really a pleasure. I look forward to having the ability to hire people and to being a part of a project from the very beginning.
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LE: Actually, when my job permits I’m still a bit bi-coastal. I really need the NYC fix, just walking to the bodega down the street from my apartment makes me happy, running into old friends, days unfolding in ways I didn’t expect… Life is much more fluid there. But LA has been good to me, I have a great career and a beautiful home. There are amazing things to see in LA if you are willing to fight traffic. Having both though, that’s the life. I’m so happy about it.
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LE: No, I was a kid, having a blast, living out a great moment in downtown Manhattan. The thing I really miss is the mixture of people we used to see, it wasn’t a money or celebrity oriented culture. It created it’s own establishment, filled with the weirdest and most wonderful. I’m not sure there’s a place for that anymore. Cities, well most of them, don’t hold the kind of secrets they used to. Culture is immediate and immediately international because of the web, so there are fewer microcosms to discover. You have to really be willing to dig.