OMEN
02-27-2007, 12:36 PM
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Culture clash ... America Ferrera
SHE wears braces, dowdy clothes and geeky glasses, but Ugly Betty has struck a chord with audiences worldwide.
When actress America Ferrera steps into the dressing room she prepares for a major transformation. She calls it "Betty-fication". Ferrera has established herself playing non-conformists or victims of oppression, with roles in films including Real Women Have Curves and Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants.
But the actor's star shot into the stratosphere playing one of the great underdogs in TV history - the title role in growing worldwide hit Ugly Betty.
Many actors obsessed with physical perfection would have baulked at the chance to play secretary Betty Suarez, a gawky fish-out-of-water who scores a job on a high-gloss New York fashion magazine populated by beautiful and sometimes brutal characters.
Betty is, as the title states, not what many would call beautiful.
But the process of becoming Betty is one which actually takes 45 minutes in the make-up chair.
This make-under procedure involves the bushing up of Ferrera's eyebrows and the addition of braces, a dodgy wig and geeky glasses.
"The show is not about the physical transformation, as much as it is her internal transformation and how she grows and becomes more confident in her talents and what she has to offer the world that she's in - this crazy fashion world," Ferrera says.
"But when I put on that costume and I'm in her shoes, it allows me to go further into who she is. Getting in the costume is a huge part of feeling like her. The words come out of my mouth differently.
"There is such a distinction between who I am and who she is. I stand differently and when I'm in her skin, I feel like Betty and I think that's the benefit of playing her character."
The braces help the process even more - although they're not as awkward as the real deal.
"They're kind of retainers," she says. "They just pop in and pop out. So they're very easy, actually."
Ugly Betty has become a major ratings success in the US in a period notable for its lack of hit new shows.
Based on a Colombian series, producers were nervous about how it would be received.
But US audiences have been overwhelming in their support of a sitcom that has been described as two parts sudsy serial, one part Cinderella story, with a dash of mystery thrown in.
There's no question its US success (snagging 16 million viewers on debut) can be attributed partly to the fact it appeals to the country's Hispanic community, which has been largely overlooked by the major TV networks.
Ferrera feels the portrayal of a Hispanic family in a mainstream sitcom is long overdue.
"I think Hispanic women are beautiful with their curves," Ferrera says.
"I'm not sure who feels that way in Hollywood. I was never told to lose 50 pounds (23kg). If they think that they just don't bother (hiring) you.
"You just don't get the role and you never know why.
"It's so reassuring to have a woman heroine who triumphs with more than just what she has on the outside."
Such has been Ferrera's impact in the show that she was recently praised in the US House Of Representatives for her Golden Globe Award win and for her work in raising the profile of Latinos.
The 22-year-old is the daughter of Honduran immigrants and was raised mostly by her mother in Woodland Hills, California.
She lived in Los Angeles in a predominately white, Jewish community. She went to school with "very wealthy kids, but I was not one of them".
"I felt like I went home and lived in one world and then went to school and lived in a completely different world," Ferrera says.
"Feeling caught between two cultures was a big part of my life, a defining of who I was.
"And I really enjoy stories that depict that struggle between the roots that you're supposed to hold on to, and that need to fit into where you are, that need to belong, to blend in."So what does Ferrera see when she looks at herself in the mirror each morning?
"It changes day to day," she says.
"This morning at 5am I felt gross and now I feel pretty good because for two hours (make-up) people have made me look good.
"I feel the same thing everyone else does. I have my days where I feel like I'm queen of the universe and then I have my days where I feel like I just want to crawl back into bed. I'm just a person, you know."
http://www.news.com.au/images/sources/h14_theadvertiser.gif
Culture clash ... America Ferrera
SHE wears braces, dowdy clothes and geeky glasses, but Ugly Betty has struck a chord with audiences worldwide.
When actress America Ferrera steps into the dressing room she prepares for a major transformation. She calls it "Betty-fication". Ferrera has established herself playing non-conformists or victims of oppression, with roles in films including Real Women Have Curves and Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants.
But the actor's star shot into the stratosphere playing one of the great underdogs in TV history - the title role in growing worldwide hit Ugly Betty.
Many actors obsessed with physical perfection would have baulked at the chance to play secretary Betty Suarez, a gawky fish-out-of-water who scores a job on a high-gloss New York fashion magazine populated by beautiful and sometimes brutal characters.
Betty is, as the title states, not what many would call beautiful.
But the process of becoming Betty is one which actually takes 45 minutes in the make-up chair.
This make-under procedure involves the bushing up of Ferrera's eyebrows and the addition of braces, a dodgy wig and geeky glasses.
"The show is not about the physical transformation, as much as it is her internal transformation and how she grows and becomes more confident in her talents and what she has to offer the world that she's in - this crazy fashion world," Ferrera says.
"But when I put on that costume and I'm in her shoes, it allows me to go further into who she is. Getting in the costume is a huge part of feeling like her. The words come out of my mouth differently.
"There is such a distinction between who I am and who she is. I stand differently and when I'm in her skin, I feel like Betty and I think that's the benefit of playing her character."
The braces help the process even more - although they're not as awkward as the real deal.
"They're kind of retainers," she says. "They just pop in and pop out. So they're very easy, actually."
Ugly Betty has become a major ratings success in the US in a period notable for its lack of hit new shows.
Based on a Colombian series, producers were nervous about how it would be received.
But US audiences have been overwhelming in their support of a sitcom that has been described as two parts sudsy serial, one part Cinderella story, with a dash of mystery thrown in.
There's no question its US success (snagging 16 million viewers on debut) can be attributed partly to the fact it appeals to the country's Hispanic community, which has been largely overlooked by the major TV networks.
Ferrera feels the portrayal of a Hispanic family in a mainstream sitcom is long overdue.
"I think Hispanic women are beautiful with their curves," Ferrera says.
"I'm not sure who feels that way in Hollywood. I was never told to lose 50 pounds (23kg). If they think that they just don't bother (hiring) you.
"You just don't get the role and you never know why.
"It's so reassuring to have a woman heroine who triumphs with more than just what she has on the outside."
Such has been Ferrera's impact in the show that she was recently praised in the US House Of Representatives for her Golden Globe Award win and for her work in raising the profile of Latinos.
The 22-year-old is the daughter of Honduran immigrants and was raised mostly by her mother in Woodland Hills, California.
She lived in Los Angeles in a predominately white, Jewish community. She went to school with "very wealthy kids, but I was not one of them".
"I felt like I went home and lived in one world and then went to school and lived in a completely different world," Ferrera says.
"Feeling caught between two cultures was a big part of my life, a defining of who I was.
"And I really enjoy stories that depict that struggle between the roots that you're supposed to hold on to, and that need to fit into where you are, that need to belong, to blend in."So what does Ferrera see when she looks at herself in the mirror each morning?
"It changes day to day," she says.
"This morning at 5am I felt gross and now I feel pretty good because for two hours (make-up) people have made me look good.
"I feel the same thing everyone else does. I have my days where I feel like I'm queen of the universe and then I have my days where I feel like I just want to crawl back into bed. I'm just a person, you know."
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