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![Our man in Hollywood caught up with the Latin-American beauty to talk dragons, racism and the benefits of playing ugly people. By <a href="http://sharpformen.com/author/earl-dittman/">Earl Dittman</a><div id='nr_fo_top_of_post'></div><p><strong>It’s hard to believe Ms. Ferrera played an ugly chick.</strong> Then again, four years of playing the titular character in a show called “Ugly Betty” will do that do a woman’s name. For the record, America Ferrera is quite not ugly. And as far as situational sitcoms go, four seasons was a success for <em>Ugly Betty</em>, thanks in most part to the Los Angeles-born actress. The show may be over, but Ferrera isn’t hurting for work. Earlier this year, the Hispanic/Women’s Rights advocate produced and took on the lead role in the dark and pensive film drama <em>The Dry Land</em> (which opened to rave reviews at Sundance). After going indie she followed up with the bi-racial romantic comedy <em>Our Family Wedding</em>. “Even though I’m saying goodbye to one very important part of my life with <em>Ugly Betty</em>,” she admits. “There feel like there are so many more doors opening up for me. This is a good time for me. I can’t complain.”</p>
<p><strong>Did you always imagine you’d be an actor while you were growing up?</strong></p>
<p>Yes, I feel like I have for a very long time known that acting is what I wanted to do. [Acting] opens up every bit of your creativity. It’s like your imagination just runs wild, and I think as a kid I was so enthralled by this. And really the only places that you could go let your imagination go wild was through film and television. I think animation takes that to a whole other level. But, I think as a kid, that’s what was so alluring to me about being an actor was that you could go to all of these places and use your imagination everyday to get there.</p>
<p><strong>What was it like playing the voice for the character of “Astrid” in <em>How To Train Your Dragon</em> in comparison to, you know, real-life human beings like Betty Suarez from <em>Ugly Betty</em>?</strong></p>
<p>Well, I had never really done animation on this level before—a character this big in a movie—and just learning to be expressive solely through my voice and not having you know your facial expressions and your body language and all that stuff. That was like relearning how to act, it was like acting with your voice one-on-one.</p>
<p><strong>A lot of people are calling <em>Our Family Wedding</em> an adaptation of <em>Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner</em>. Is this film trying to make a strong social statement or is it just all fun?</strong></p>
<p>I realize it’s nice to be part of something really powerful and that sets a bar, but you don’t have to clobber people with a social message in order for it to be there. I’m proud that this movie is light and fluffy in part, but it also speaks to cultural gaps and generational gaps. The cool thing is I’m part of a generation that is really moving towards color blindness. I could care less when it comes to who I date or marry. It’s about the person and what’s going on inside of them.</p>
<p><strong>When it comes to who you decide to marry, would you ever let ethnic background or financial status decide?</strong></p>
<p>Do I care about race and color when it comes to anything including love? Absolutely not. The great thing is I’m part of a generation that really doesn’t care anymore. It’s about the person and what’s inside of them. My motto in love is to just follow your heart. It’s about how the person treats you above all else. Love is colorblind in my book.</p>
<p><strong>While you were first auditioning and trying to make a name for yourself in Hollywood, did you ever go out for a movie or TV series and have someone tell you, “This part is not for you, because you’re too Hispanic and there aren’t that many Hispanic leading ladies who sell movie tickets?”</strong></p>
<p>I did hear that and know that a lot of other actresses who are Hispanic paved the way for me. They played 100 maids, so I could come in and play a role like Betty. I will always be riding on their backs.</p>
<div id='nr_fo_bot_of_post'></div> Sharp Woman: America Ferrera](http://sharpformen.com/wp-content/gallery/sharp-woman-america-ferrera/sharp-woman-america-ferrera00046-08_8.jpg)