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" \n We first fell in love with the adorable and super sassy Ana Ortiz in her role as Hilda Suarez, the sweet, no-nonsense big sister on Ugly Betty. So we were excited to catch up with her on all her latest projects, including the upcoming Devious Maids, premiering on Lifetime June 23rd, her co-starring role with (our homegirl!) Gina Rodriguez in Sleeping With The Fishes, premiering at the Brooklyn Film Festival this weekend, which depicts the challenges of growing up in a Latin household. Read on for her thoughts on acting, fame, and working with other Latinas in a starring role. How did you get started as an actress? Well I guess I&amp;#039;ve always been performing. I first did ballet, then went to Music and Arts High School in New York for singing, and went to college for theatre. I had supportive parents, my mom encouraged my talents, she took me to a Broadway play for my birthday every year. How was it breaking into the industry? It was really hard to break in. I was lucky to go to school in Philadelphia, and able to get my union card. I started auditioning backstage since I didn&amp;#039;t have an agent. I did the hassles, I got rejected, it was difficult, definitely a long road. How do you think being Latina affected your career? It&amp;#039;s helped me the most, I was really lucky with the time. When I started to audition I ended up in LAByrinth Theater Company and was fortunate it was really diverse group ethnically and socially. I was encouraged to work on roles that were original and stemmed from who I am. It&amp;#039;s helped me immensely. Do you feel the industry has changed from when you started? It&amp;#039;s hugely different. The interesting about Devious Maids is that I&amp;#039;ve been seeing these women for years when we were all at the same auditions competing for the same roles, and here we are in a group doing our own thing it&amp;#039;s really exciting. What was it like to be a part of Ugly Betty, a show that was so big in Latin America and became embraced here in the U.S.?  It was intimidating at first. The show had such a huge following. The producers of the original series came on set and were so kind and generous and excited that all of our hesitation melted away. Ugly Betty was one of my most incredible experiences in my life. Playing Hilda was so freeing and exciting and challenging, and yet someone I knew so well. To be able to do that for four years was monumental. Hilda stays with me in my life, everyday. Tell us a little about your upcoming role in Sleeping With The Fishes. We&amp;#039;re really proud! Gina is such a huge talent, so giving and fun. She&amp;#039;s so committed it was really an extraordinary experience. The writer and director Nicole Gomez Fisher is top notch and threw herself into it completely. It&amp;#039;ll be in festivals this summer. What actors inspired you? Gosh so many, from my childhood Rita Moreno and Julie Andrews. In the movie Musical, those two women were powerhouses. Rita was someone I could look at and think I could do that, that could be me. America Ferrera is at the top of my list today, she&amp;#039;s powerful and so smart, she cares so deeply about the work and what she does and what she can do; I admire her tremendously. What is the best advice mamihas ever given you? My mother is the wisest, smartest, kindest, most loving person I know. She has a rule she lives by\u2014the three-day rule. When something monumental happens, good or bad and you want to fly off the handle or be impulsive, give it three days. The day of the happening, day two mull it over, day three make a decision. It&amp;#039;s helped me very much. I&amp;#039;m impulsive and passionate so that has helped. What advice would you give to young Latinas trying to start an acting career? I would say to stay true to who you are and use it in everything you do. It will guide you. As Latinas we need to represent. Don&amp;#039;t be afraid of it and embrace that part of you. Practice, read, study, watch movies, do theater\u2014all of that! A well-oiled machine is the one that will run the best. The more practice you do, even if not getting paid, you&amp;#039;ll benefit in the long run. When I&amp;#039;m not working I keep practicing. It sounds corny but it helps. What can we expect from you next? I&amp;#039;d love to go back to New York and do some theatre. I just saw Annie with my daughter and America, it was so wonderful and exciting. I would love to do something like that or original plays. There&amp;#039;s so much work out there not being produced that would be wonderful to try. I&amp;#039;m very confident Devious Maids will be back. We just wrapped production and it was a great experience, but I&amp;#039;m open. I want to try everything. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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