Athena Karkanis is perfect for her role on The Border, though producers took some convincing.

When you see Athena Karkanis on The Border this season, just don't say she has a familiar face, OK?

Karkanis is the newest regular cast member on the CBC series, which returns for its third season on Thursday, Oct. 8. She seems a natural for the role of Khalida Massi, but getting the part was an ordeal.

"My agent called and said, 'There's this great part on The Border, she's the language specialist and she's half-Algerian and half-French and they've described her as someone who looks Mediterranean, so they're kind of describing you,' " Karkanis recalled.

"So I was like, 'Great, awesome, submit me.' But then my agent said, 'The problem is, you've been on The Border before.' "

It was way back in the pilot episode of the series.

"It was two and a half years ago and I was kind of in disguise," Karkanis said. "I played the wife of a man who gets sent back to Syria. She wore a hijab. She had long robes and a thick accent. I was very unrecognizable, as most people would be. But nonetheless, it was me."

A few weeks after that conversation between Karkanis and her agent, the breakdown for the new part on The Border made the rounds again.

"My agent was saying, 'Ugh, this is crazy, they haven't found anyone because they're looking for you!' " Karkanis said. "So she nudged the casting director again, and again we got back, 'I know, but she has been on the show.' "

Then the agent suggested Karkanis make an audition tape and send it in. She did that. And again, the answer came back from the casting people: Yes, it's a great audition, but she already has been on the show.

Frustrating!

"So finally my agent, refusing to take no for an answer, sent the audition tape to the producers," Karkanis said. "She said, 'Listen, I know you have certain rules, but I kind of feel like this is an exception.'

"And the producers saw the audition and they were like, 'Great, we love her, our screen test is on Monday, we hope she can make it.' And then I got the part."

Wow, that agent deserves a raise.

The Border focuses on Canada's elite Immigration and Customs Security Squad (ICS). As the third season begins, Major Mike Kessler (James McGowan) is fighting for the future of the unit.

Khalida quickly proves her worth as the new language specialist, which isn't surprising, since Karkanis is something of a language specialist herself. So how many languages does Karkanis actually speak?

"Fluently? I speak three -- English, French and Spanish -- but I also speak Italian pretty well, German pretty OK, a little bit of Greek, and my Arabic is coming along, I'm studying with a private tutor right now," Karkanis said.

"It's like people who learn piano and then they learn 50 other instruments."

Sounds like no matter what language she's speaking, on screen or off, Athena Karkanis has the gift of the gab.