The actress revels in her dastardly role on ABC sitcom

Portia de Rossi says there’s no way she could ever be like Veronica, the ruthless boss she plays on the ABC comedy Better Off Ted (Tuesday at 9:30 pm).

“I care too much, and I’m attracted to characters that don’t care at all,” de Rossi said in a recent telephone interview.

“I’m always worried about how I come across. Most people want to be liked. To play a character that doesn’t care is very liberating. I wonder what it would be like not to care. I just get to laugh all the time. The absurdity of what Veronica says is so fun to me.”

The 36-year-old said Veronica reminds her of Lindsay Bluth, the character she played on the critically acclaimed Fox comedy Arrested Development.

“Lindsay Bluth was really insensitive, too,” she said. “When Arrested Development ended, it was important for me to go from a brilliant, special show to another brilliant, special show.”

Since Arrested went off the air in 2006, rumors have swirled that a big-screen version of the series is in the works. Alas, de Rossi doesn’t have an update.

“I talked to (executive producer) Ron Howard four weeks ago,” she said. “He seems to think there’s a possibility of the movie being made next spring. But I haven’t seen a script and we all have jobs. I don’t know how we’ll all get together. But I know we all want it to happen. I just have hope like the rest of you guys.”

For now, she’s busy promoting Better Off Ted, which received strong reviews when it debuted last spring but earned mediocre ratings.

“These are the best episodes that we’ve ever done,” she said. “I’m excited to talk about them. For me, this is the best character I’ve ever had on the best show, and I want it to keep going. I want people to see it. All we can do is get the word out there. I would ultimately love this show to go for many, many more seasons.”

The actress also is working on a book about her lifelong battle with eating disorders.

“I just think I have the kind of firsthand information that I can pass on to people that I was looking for when I was struggling,” she said. “The inner workings of how a simple diet can turn into something that is deadly. There’s no lonelier place than struggling with an eating disorder. People can maybe see some similarities and apply it to themselves.”

The Australian native is married to comedian Ellen DeGeneres and has appeared on her wife’s talk show. Asked if the two have ever thought of working together, she sounds genuinely surprised.

“We have never talked about it,” she said, and then laughed. “Maybe I’ll go home and talk about it.”