Kristen Bell has a bit of a potty mouth. She admits it.

The truth is, most of us do.

And Bell is glad that her TV show House of Lies reflects reality in that way.

“In truth, I swear a lot,” said Bell, whose series is in the midst of its fifth season, airing on The Movie Network in Canada and channel-of-origin Showtime in the United States.

“I use a lot of language, not all of it is clean. I don't mean it in an offensive way, I simply use colourful language. I also use a lot of crazy adjectives.

“I don't find that a lot of people edit out their swear words during the day, unless you’re in a business setting. I feel like people want to swear when they're not on camera, and I appreciate the fact that the writers write realistic dialogue. These people (the main characters in House of Lies) are harsh and edgy and severe, and their language mirrors that.”

So in some ways the dialogue on TV has caught up to real life.

“Certainly cable television has,” Bell agreed. “You can drop your guard and write how humans talk. You don't have to deal with the censorship issues you have on network. You can write an actual conversation.

“I think probably the only show that swears more than us would have been Deadwood. As we all know, that was kind of their M.O.”

Hey, maybe in some future season of House of Lies, they can go to the Wild West or something.

“Oh yes,” Bell said. “We would dominate.”

Focusing on a group of cutthroat management consultants, House of Lies stars Bell as Jeannie van der Hooven, Don Cheadle as Marty Kaan, Ben Schwartz as Clyde Oberholt and Josh Lawson as Doug Guggenheim.

As maniacally driven and greedy as Jeannie, Marty, Clyde and Doug can be, they often form the cumulative voice of reason for clients who might be successful and rich on the one hand, but are frighteningly flaky on the other.

What I'm saying is, if House of Lies has taught me anything, it's that super high-achieving people are also nuts. Bell laughed when I said that, but she didn't disagree.

“I think you're spot on,” Bell said. “I really do.

“I think that anyone who achieves — there are enigmas, of course — but anyone who achieves greatness or massive success has probably done it by seeing the world in a different way. They have different glasses than the rest of us, and usually that means they're a little bit nuts. Their priorities are different. They're not the norm.

“I think highly successful people see the world differently. And if you see the world differently, you're often a bit crazy or eccentric.”

Bell, of course, has been a well-known showbiz fixture for a dozen years now, going back to the debut of her TV series Veronica Mars in 2004.

Bell recently has been linked to a new NBC sitcom called Good Place, from Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur, in which she will co-star with Ted Danson. But that is not expected to interfere with Bell's work on House of Lies, if in fact that show is granted a sixth season.

“I feel like there's much more story to tell (in House of Lies), particularly because Jeannie and Marty have just had this baby,” Bell said. “As we all know, having kids embarks you on an entirely different journey. It's a time when your personal interests and professional interests hit a collision point and you have to make a lot of tough decisions about who you want to be.

“So I feel like there's plenty of story left to tell and certainly hope that it goes on. I also love working on this show. I love these people and this part, so I don't ever want it to end.”

Hey, Kristen Bell gets to swear on camera in House of Lies. Who could f------ ask for anything more?

Twitter: @billharris_tv

bharris@postmedia.com