Paley TV Festival Gets "Ugly"

MARCH 13, 2007: The principal star of ABC's "Ugly Betty" America Ferrera revealed at last night's presentation at the Paley TV Festival that her boss, producer Salma Hayek hired her by shouting at her at a restaurant: "America! You're my ugly girl!"


The award-winning ABC comedy was honored at the Museum of Television and Radio's Paley Festival on Monday with the entire hilarious cast present at the event revealing a bunch of tidbits that you may not have known about the show.

According to the cast, Hayek pitched the show (as well as the casting of America Ferrera for the role) to ABC back in 2004, but the network waited for a year until Silvio Horta came on board and made some crucial tweaks (Betty was supposed to have been an FBI agent in the original concept.)




Eric Mabius who plays womanizing Mode magazine editor-in-chief Daniel Meade revealed that he had also auditioned for an undisclosed role on NBC's hit drama "Heroes" and came this-close to snatching that role.

Ashley Jensen who plays Scottish designer Christina McKinney on the show was originally auditioned for the role as a straight talking New Yorker. Finally, someone asked, "Could you do it in your own accent?" - "and they changed it to a straight-talking Scottish person, and here I am," Jensen said.



Finally, former O.C. star Alan Dale was not the first choice for the character of Bradford Meade. He was cast after a big name star was ‘let go’ for being too difficult.


After Ferrera got a big round of applause for saying the role was beyond what she could have imagined, Jensen noted: "I love the way you all cheer in America. We don't do that in Britain."

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