'Tis The Season For Eric Mabius
Eric Mabius says it's kind of tricky having Salma Hayek as a love interest on the hit show, "Ugly Betty."
"Well, she's also my boss. She's an executive producer on the show, so I sort of have to forget that when (I'm) rehearsing scenes in bed with one of the most beautiful women on the planet... after my wife, of course," says Mabius, 35, who plays playboy Daniel Meade on the ABC comedy, based on the Colombian telenovela "Yo Soy Betty La Fea."
Even more daunting was filming a scene in which Hayek's character, Sofia, stands on his shoulders and says she's not wearing any underwear as she tries to escape from an elevator. He says the experience helped him learn a lot about his boss.
"She was nervous. Salma's actually a really a shy woman. You'd never know that if you consider the role she plays but she was nervous that I had to look up her skirt," he says. "Obviously, all the guys want to know what she was wearing (underneath) and I'm just not going to tell you what she was wearing."
Mabius says Hayek and the show's creator, Silvio Horta, are responsible for the relaxed atmosphere on the set — so relaxed that he finds himself laughing all the time. "We just have so much fun. If you're spending 70 hours a week on set, it's the greatest gift you could really ask for," he says.
Hayek is more than a boss, she's become a friend, too. "She's so sweet, she's got a bit of caretaker in her so, yes, inevitably that ends up happening and you end up developing a friendship. She has many dogs she rescues, you can tell she likes to take in strays like me," he says.Photos: Family-Friendly TV
The vibe on "Betty" was similar to that of "A Christmas Wedding," a TV movie which aired Monday on Lifetime, co-starring Sarah Paulson of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and Dean Cain, whose many credits include "Las Vegas" and "Lois & Clark," a 90s re-telling of the Superman story.
In "Wedding," Mabius stars as a groom who is forced to complete wedding plans when his bride (Paulson) is called away on business. As he was filming the movie in Canada, he was planning his own nuptials to interior designer Ivy Sherman.
"We found out while we were planning the wedding that we were pregnant as well, so lots of real life stuff was happening," he says. "It was good because there was a lot of lessons. You know, wedding planning is supposed to be one of the most stressful times in one's life, but ours went off with out a hitch. I attribute that mostly to having such great in-laws."
Mabius and Sherman wed in New Orleans in February and their son is now five months old. He has just one nugget of advice for any man who is planning to walk down the aisle: "I think Denzel Washington's quote is: 'Smile and do what your wife tells you to do.' That's pretty much it."
"I end up having to assume the burden and take over the reins of the wedding planning, and in the process, learn how to grow up quite a bit," he says. "We grow closer, even though we're 3,000 miles away from one another. It's fun, it's warm, it's kind of light. I think — especially how bleak things are in our country — it's nice to be a part of something like this … it's not going to be an unhappy ending."
Mabius' character in the TV movie is diametrically opposed to his role on "Ugly Betty." The actor says the wry wit, camp and melodrama are what drew him to that series.
"And going to work with Salma Hayek every week isn't too hard, either," he jokes.
By Amy Bonawitz