On the Road to Self-Discovery with Justin Suarez

Photography By David Needleman
/ Hair By Jake Dingler for ArtistsByTimothyPriano.com /
Makeup and Styling By Kate Best

A wise person told me: “Just embrace who you are, because if you don’t believe in yourself, who’s going to?” That wise person is 15-year-old Mark Indelicato, who plays Justin Suarez on ABC’s Ugly Betty.
The initially striking characteristic about the young actor is his wise-beyond-his-years nature. Indelicato has grown up (and is still growing up) in the spotlight. He joined the Ugly Betty cast when he was 11 years old and attributes his maturity to working in an adult environment.
“Just being in the work environment that I’m in all the time, surrounded by adults, people who are 10-plus years older than me, I have to act like an adult because people aren’t going to tolerate childish behavior. Most kids wouldn’t think about growing up like I have had to,” he says.

Indelicato currently balances high school and a career. He attends Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) in Manhattan, where he is a drama major, taking four additional classes a week in addition to his normal high school curriculum. While it’s a lot to balance, Indelicato doesn’t consider it a burden; he’s doing what he loves.
And while Indelicato was thrown into early maturity due to his work environment, his character of Justin, a fashion-obsessed, musical theater-loving boy full of personality, is growing up on the show as well. The role is somewhat revolutionary, considering there are no other similar characters in the world of television right now. Indelicato emphasizes how important it is to have Justin in the show, and on television in general.
“It really helps people find out that it’s not bad to be that person. It’s not a crime and that’s something that Justin has really symbolized – that anything you want to be is fine,” explains Indelicato. “Justin reaches out to a lot of kids in high school, in college, and even some young adults who are still trying to find themselves because he’s on this journey right now trying to find himself, trying to figure out what’s ‘right’ and what’s really in his heart. Kids are mean; there’s a stereotype [that] people feel the need to follow, and Justin is offsetting that. He’s saying: ‘You don’t have to be that person.’”
That message doesn’t only apply to Justin Suarez. For anyone who has watched Ugly Betty, it’s clear that the show’s characters are all different in their own right. From the main character, Betty Suarez, played by America Ferrara, to Justin’s mother, Hilda Suarez, played by Ana Ortiz, these characters are all on the road to self-discovery and acceptance. “What Ugly Betty represents is embracing who you are,” Indelicato says.
Maybe Indelicato’s maturity can also be attributed to his early start in the business. Growing up in Bucks County, PA, his family recognized his love for performing at a very early age. When his grandmother spotted an advertisement for a Philadelphia acting school in the paper, Indelicato enrolled at the age of 6 and his career blossomed. While most children were learning how to sing their ABCs, Indelicato was learning how to be a professional actor.
And while at 15 Indelicato is still considered young in the business, he acknowledges that it hasn’t been an easy journey. “There’s hardship in any career that involves acting. Ninety percent of your time is filled with the letters N-O,” he says. “There are definitely times when I’ve gotten discouraged and wanted to quit. My parents were always supportive of that, but they saw it wasn’t me not wanting to do it; it was just me getting down because I didn’t get a certain job. You have to keep pushing forward; that’s the only way you’ll ever get anywhere,” he says.
Even the role of Justin, a crucial member of the Betty series, wasn’t initially guaranteed. After rounds of callbacks and finally making the cut, Indelicato was warned by his manager that this was just a very, very minor role. “I was going to be that kid who walked in, said something funny, and walked out of the room,” he recalls. But audiences took to the character so well that writers developed Justin’s storyline. Now, Justin is facing the hardships of growing up and Indelicato appreciates where the writers are going with his character. While he says that in the first two seasons, he was really only bringing about 5 percent of himself to Justin’s character, he now feels much more connected to him.
“This past year, with all the school troubles that Justin’s going through, though I haven’t really faced them, I’ve witnessed it in school and I feel really strongly about where the writers are going with the character, showing kids that it’s okay to be different,” he says. “That’s what’s driving me with this character right now, wanting to show the world – not just kids who are different, but the people who think that [it’s] not okay. I want to prove a lot of people wrong and I think the show as a whole is breaking that one big status quo,” he says.
It’s also possible that Indelicato’s maturity can be simply attributed to who he is as a person. Not many teenagers can handle the pressures of the industry, as well as tackle the issues his character Justin does with such grace. Indelicato also understands the fleeting nature of the industry and is determined to go to college and study fashion journalism, recognizing the importance of a second career.
“Acting is my first love, but it’s hard. TV in general is an unsure situation; you’re never sure whether or not you’re going on next episode, and I don’t know if I want to have to deal with that stomach-turning feeling all the time, wondering what am I going to do next.
“I think if I have another career that I study, I’ll know that I have something else lined up for myself. I don’t want to depend on my acting career staying strong because I don’t want to end up being the has-been of television. Everyone tells me I’m too intense for this, but … whatever,” he says with a laugh.
Indelicato enjoys living in New York City, being able to go to school and having a somewhat normal teenage life, though he jokes that teenagers in New York don’t really lead a normal life to begin with. He loves having friends with whom he can go out at night and a real school instead of an on-set teacher. Aside from focusing on getting into college, he says, he also is open to other acting projects and would like to try roles that are outside his comfort zone.
“As much as I love playing him, I don’t want to be Justin forever. I really want to do a lot more dramatic acting. In Ugly Betty, I’ve gotten to experience some of that. But comedy is all I really know because this is my first real show. I think a dramatic part would be really fun and expand my career a lot more. I don’t want to be stuck in comedy forever, though it’s probably what I’ll always love to do and feel comfortable doing,” he says.
No matter what the future holds for Mark Indelicato – whether it’s performing in dramatic roles or his byline in The New York Times style section – fans can be sure that he will apply himself with the same maturity, integrity, talent and professionalism that has allowed him to play the role of Justin Suarez so well on Ugly Betty. And hopefully all of us can take away a message from what Indelicato advises. Embrace who you are—it’s okay to be different.