I'm at a place in my career where I'm following my gut. When you finish a series like Ugly Betty, there are so many voices around you telling you what you should be doing next and what would be good for your future, sometimes you can't hear yourself. I've gotten pretty good at tuning everyone else out. Now it's just me; what pleases me creatively.
I was an open, smiley and gregarious child. I could make friends in 30 seconds wherever I went. Nowadays I'd describe myself as earnest, terribly earnest. I'm the person who wants everybody in the room to feel important and happy.
The name America has definitely grown on me. I wish there was a big patriotic story behind it, but the truth is that my grandfather was a librarian who knew all sorts of random facts. When my mother was born on 14 April, he named her after a Latin American holiday, the Day of Americas, that nobody knew about. My due date also happened to be 14 April.
Once you start making art a business there sadly comes an element of need. Planning gets involved. You think: "How do I make a sustainable career? How do I stay on top?" And then you have to ask: "Do I genuinely want this, or have I just been conditioned to want it?"
Finding the one is not just a feeling, it's an educated guess. I feel like I chose someone to share my life with who is my friend.
I'm no expert on marriage. I've been married four months [to film director Ryan Piers Williams]. What I would say is that vows and rings don't change anything: the challenges are the same. Every day is just a conscious commitment to making the next day better.
I struggled with being a Latino growing up in Los Angeles. I felt very American. I still do. I went to 35 bar mitzvahs before I went to a single quinceañera [a Latin American celebration of a girl's 15th birthday]. I could talk all day about my culture and what it means to me.
The first time I landed in New York and got a cab to my hotel, I was completely struck by it: a feeling of life and chaos, 24 hours around the clock, just like in London. And whatever your problem is, it's insignificant. You're just a small part of something very big.
There's no better way to end the year than by throwing yourself into something completely scary. The thought of dancing and singing terrifies me [Ferrera is playing Roxie Hart in Chicago in London]. But when it gets to September and they ask you, you think: "Well, why not?"
I miss Betty madly. I loved her. Whenever people talk about her, I get really nostalgic. There are parts of her still with me; I played her for four years and, of course, the lines get blurred.
I'm not sure people will ever stop saying: "Oh my god, she's not Ugly Betty!" when they see a picture of me. I find it funny that people are still shocked. I mean, I thought we discussed this!
America Ferrera is starring in Chicago: The Musical from tomorrow