Mark Indelicato and Vincent Rodriguez, who play a gay couple on Prime Video’s With Love, revealed how they broke into acting in their new uInterview.

Indelicato recalled that his grandmother was the one who pushed him to start acting.

“I was literally like taking acting classes in an acting school in Philadelphia because I wasn’t good at sports and my grandma was like he’s eccentric, we should put him in acting which is code for gay, where I come from,” Indelicato told uInterview founder Erik Meers with a laugh.

After taking classes, he landed the role of Justin Suarez in the hit TV show Ugly Betty, “they kinda just like found me there, and then I don’t know we did the pilot and then that ended up becoming my career.”

Rodriguez’s story was different from his costar’s as he didn’t start as early.

“It wasn’t really until later in my life that I actually got to be in a play or be in a musical like I was a musician and martial artist before I was ever a performer, if that makes any sense,” he said.

He was interested in performing when he was young, but didn’t pursue it seriously until much later, “when I was a kid I think I had these dreams like I would watch the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles and wish, oh that I could be that guy and like I want to do that.”

“So I was a fan of what this art form can do. I think I think it started with a passion for me. Just being inspired by the work that I was seeing and wanting to be a part of it. It kinda just snowballed into like I’m gonna take classes alright I’m gonna put away my martial arts, you know, area of my life and my two black belts, and I’m gonna take singing lessons and dance lessons, and the love just kept overflowing and you know I just kept going and just kept doing theater and then TV because here I am, here I am.” 

Transcript: 

Erik Meers: So finally something we ask all the actors we interview we love to hear a little bit about people’s backstories. What was your first acting experience that made you decide that you wanted to become an actor? Mark, why don’t we start with you? 

Indelicato: Oh god, I’m gonna sound like such a dick when I say this. 

Rodriguez: I can’t wait to hear this Mark.  

Indelicato: It was Ugly Betty, so this is my first job. 

Meers: And how did you land that? 

Indelicato: I was just I was literally taking acting classes in an acting school in Philadelphia because I wasn’t good at sports and my grandma was like he’s eccentric we should put him in acting which is code for gay, where I come from. And then I don’t know they kinda just like found me there and then I don’t know we did the pilot and then that ended up becoming my career so I didn’t really have a lot of time to think about it. I’m glad that I ended up liking it though. 

Meers: Vincent?

Rodriguez: So what was the question, Erik? Was it the first experience?

Meers: What the first experience that made you decide you wanted to become an actor? 

Rodriguez: You know that’s really hard to answer because I had a different experience than Mark. When I was a kid, I think I had these dreams like I would watch the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles and wish, oh that I could be that guy and like I want to do that. Like oh, I wanna sing, I wanna dance. Like I would memorize commercials and recite them and you know. It wasn’t really until later in my life that I actually got to be in a play or be in a musical like I was a musician and martial artist before I was ever a performer if that makes any sense. So I was a fan of what this art form can do, and I think I think it started with passion for me. Just being inspired by the work that I was seeing and wanting to be a part of it and um yeah. It kinda just snowballed into like I’m gonna take classes alright I’m gonna put away my martial arts, you know, area of my life and my two black belts, and I’m gonna take singing lessons and dance lessons and the love just kept overflowing, and you know, I just kept going and just kept doing theater and then TV because here I am, here I am.

Season two of With Love premieres on Friday on Prime Video.

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