After auditioning in New York, she was offered a role on the soap opera "Santa Barbara". Taking the role would have required her to quit her education at the American Conservatory Theatre, and Banks ultimately decided to forgo the offer due to having taken out student loans to complete her degree. She made her acting debut in the 1998 independent film "Surrender Dorothy", as Elizabeth Casey, and appeared in various films over the next seven years including "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), "Swept Away" (2002), and "Seabiscuit" (2003).