Interview with "Ugly Betty"’s David Blue

AE: And he’s speaking up for himself from a place of confidence, not insecurity or bluster. It’s really nice to see a character like Cliff, who’s not only cool, but very comfortable with himself. And not just his sexuality, but the way he looks.
DB: Yeah. I know that originally his character was brought on because people love Marc … and wanted to see more of Marc and wanted to see deeper into who Marc was. And I love that I was brought on to help service that character, and I think that I did. I think Cliff allows people to see a more human side of Marc.

Yeah, Marc has all this stuff going on, but he’s still out to make a love connection, he’s still out to have that human part. I love in every episode being able to challenge that part. I hear people say, “Why is Cliff interested in Marc?” and I think it’s because there is that human part underneath. Cliff kind of brings that out, and just like I’m curious to see what Marc will bring out in Cliff. I think it allows the character to be more three-dimensional, both of them.

AE: What was the makeover process like for episode three where you showed up for the wedding all dressed to the nines?
DB: It’s actually funny because I usually don’t have facial hair. I have in the past, but not normally and when I auditioned, they asked me to start growing it. By the time that we shot the first two episodes, I got so many jokes from family and friends – you look like a mountain man – I had been dying for a haircut for weeks. But it was pretty much just a haircut and a shave, which I did myself.

AE: That was quite the suit!
DB: Yeah, it definitely was. If I had no morals, I would have stolen that because it was amazingly nice and comfortable. It was just great. It was the first thing that I’ve ever had built for me and I was so happy to have it. I was just so happy to wear it any time I was allowed to.

AE: You talked before about being a little bit heavier than your average actor. What do you have to deal with regarding that? As an actor do you feel pressure to be thinner? Or is that something to which you just say, “That’s not me. I’m not going to let that get to me.”
DB: I was heavy, then I lost weight, then I gained a little weight, then I lost it – back and forth. I’m a poster child for yo-yoing. But I do love working out, so I try to remain somewhat healthy all the time. I was actually looking at pictures of myself two years ago and I was like, “Oh my God! Back then I thought I was heavy and I was way thinner back then than I am now!”

I think there’s a certain acceptance that you have to have of who you are in order to start working in this industry because when you go to bring something to a role, you literally have to bring some of yourself to it. So on that note, I have accepted just a little bit, that I am a little bit on the bigger side. Now on the other hand, it still bothers me if I go out for a role and everyone else there is thinner and I get it and I wonder, is that [being heavier] why?