The show has moved to NYC and it is famous for having citizens who speak their minds. Have you had any memorable encounters with people yet?
Yeah, we were shooting in Queens and this guy pulls up in a big truck and parked right in front of our camera. He gets out to go get his food for the day, I think it was a fried chicken store, and he started cursing at us because we were in his way. So we’ve had our fair share of New York experiences.

When you take time off in the summer from playing Betty, does it become tricky to resume the quirks and traits of the character?
You know it is actually a little bit of a challenge when we come back from a hiatus. I just always feel a little bit rusty coming back to the character. But once I’m back in her wig and costumes and back on the set with the other characters it does come back.

Is there a part of the character that is more difficult to recapture?
I think the voice is a [difficult] part. But sometimes it’s hard for me to stop talking like Betty, too, when I’ve been doing it all day. When I go home I realize the pitch is so much higher and I have to get back down to how I’m used to speaking.

You’re the youngest of six kids. Do your older siblings still treat you like the baby of the family no matter how famous you become or how many awards you win?
Absolutely, to my family I will always be their kid sister. [Laughs] I don’t think that will ever change.

Do they watch the show and give you feedback?
Oh absolutely. One of my sisters knows what’s going on before I do [laughs]. She’s like, “I saw online today that Regis and Kelly are going to be on your show.” I’m like, “They are?” She stays more connected than I am sometimes. But she loves the show and she texts me on every commercial break to give me an update on what she liked about each act. Then she sends ideas of what she thinks should be in the next episode [laughs]. She makes me smile because she really cares and she’s just a dedicated fan of the show. Sometimes I think it has nothing to do with me. I think she actually is more interested in Betty [laughs].

Since playing Betty you’ve won a Golden Globe and Emmy award. And this year Maxim magazine ranked you number 84 on their Hot 100 List. What did you think about being given this type of attention for playing a character who is supposed to be considered ugly?
[Laughs] I guess it’s always funny when Maxim puts you on their Hot 100 List. I think anyone who doesn’t think that’s funny takes themselves too seriously. I mean, it is what it is. It made me laugh and I think it’s funny. But it’s kind of a compliment, I guess.

In real life you are beautiful and you don’t really look anything like Betty. Are people that see you still surprised that you don’t look like her, even after two seasons of doing the show?
I think some are still surprised to see me not as Betty. But some people see me on the street and they still call me Betty. I think that is the thing about being on a television show. When it’s that personal and you’re in people’s living rooms there is a certain familiarity that they feel with you and I don’t think they’ll ever see me as America. I think that’s great because she’s such a wonderful and loving character. I’m very happy that people are focused on Betty the character and not on me as the actor. 

This year is the Emmy Awards 60th anniversary and I understand that the producers are planning to remember some of TV’s greatest icons. I was wondering who are your favorite icons from the past that you watched growing up?
I think I’ve seen everything to do with I Love Lucy. So Lucy is definitely up there. But it’s funny when I was growing up and I would watch I Love Lucy I had no concept that it wasn’t a television show of my time. I thought I Love Lucy was happening then and there. The other thing that really confused me was the concept of a rerun. I would literally think, “So do they just get back together and do the same thing all over again? How do they do it exactly the same every time?!”

Speaking of the Emmy Awards, when you’re there at these big gatherings, do you get star struck and nervous to see and meet the other celebrities that are there?
Oh my gosh, yes. One of the most surreal moments I think I’ve ever experienced was when I went to the Golden Globes the first year that Ugly Betty was out. When the show won we were all on stage and I was standing there and I saw Tom Hanks and I literally could not control myself. So I waved at him. I waved to Tom Hanks from the stage! Then I realized this is probably not the most appropriate time to be waving at him. But they actually caught that on camera and it became part of the broadcast, me waving at Tom Hanks. Then also I remember seeing Meryl Streep and Will Smith and all of these people who I had grown up idolizing.

Speaking of celebrities, earlier this year you campaigned for Hillary Clinton during the presidential primaries. Do you have plans to campaign for Barack Obama?
I got lucky during the primaries because I had some downtime during the writers’ strike and that’s why I had time to be out on behalf of Hillary. I’m the spokesperson for Declare Yourself, which is a nonpartisan organization about getting every 18 year old registered to vote and I’m certainly a supporter of the Democratic Party and with Barack Obama as the nominee. But I don’t think I’m going to have a lot of time to be out there campaigning in the same way that I was before.

Have you had a lot of success in getting younger peopled registered to vote?
What I really experienced when I was out on the campaign trail is that young people are really paying attention to this election and they are out there and they’re eager. I don’t know about the numbers and the statistics and how much more people are out this time than last time. But I do know from my personal interactions, especially because a lot of my campaigning was done on college campuses among young people, and one way or the other, Republican or Democrat, young people are paying attention and I think that’s very encouraging that in this election they’re eager to use their voices.

During your time with Hillary, did she give you any good general advice on life or how to handle fame and media scrutiny or was there even time for that kind of conversation?
I did get to have some good conversations with her. But I think what I learned most came from just watching her. I mean I thought my schedule was tough, but I don’t think she slept more than three or four hours a night. And not only did she have to be awake, but she had to be awake and smart and articulate and every single word that came out of her mouth was scrutinized and I think I just learned so much from watching her be so graceful under the pressure. I think what I really got from campaigning is that that experience made walking down the red carpet so much easier for me because before I used to get so worked up about that amount of attention. But after campaigning and knowing there are people who are out there whose public and professional lives change whether people have health insurance or not, whether people live or die and whether people can support themselves. After having that experience, all of that pressure from walking down the red carpet went away. I mean I’m just walking down here to have fun and to be a part of something that most of the time is just a celebration. It just put what I do in perspective for me. Until I’m involved in a competition that will determine whether people will live or die, then I really shouldn’t be feeling any pressure. So I just try and keep that in perspective and remember that the pressure I feel is nothing in comparison to what really matters.

The end of last season cast a question mark on Betty’s job and her love life. What can you tease about what’s in store for Betty this season?
I don’t know exactly what details I’m allowed to give out, but I can say that she is making really big life choices and there are changes in her world and professional life. I mean big changes and unexpected ones. I think people will be very surprised by the choices that Betty makes.

I think if nothing else, Betty should bring back her Guadalajara poncho.
[Laughs] I’ll tell them you said that.

(photo via virginmedia.com)