Is "Housewives" Star Maiara Walsh Hot for Jesse Metcalfe's Character?

Season six of
Desperate Housewives premieres this Sunday, Sept. 27 at 9 p.m, and I’ve got an exclusive interview with the show’s newest star,
Maiara Walsh, that you don’t want to miss! The 21-year-old Brazilian beauty (who va-va-voomed
onto Wisteria Lane last May) gave Vivo Por Tivo the juicy details on
her manipulative character, Ana, told us what we can expect to see in
the new season, and revealed that her character and Eva Longoria
Parker's character might be fighting over the same man. Maiara
also talks about her multi-ethnic background and shedding her Disney
image. 

Congratulations on becoming a series regular! That’s huge! Where were you when you got wind of your promotion?

I was at my manager’s office and she got the phone call. It was so exciting!

Lets backtrack a few months. What was your audition process like for the role of Ana?

It was three auditions. I had just booked a TV sitcom pilot for CBS, so I didn’t think I would be able to do
Desperate Housewives. So I auditioned, and I kind of
just went in there—I did my thing, and then they called me back. The
second audition was with Mark Cherry and a few others, and the third
audition was with an entire room full of people—15 people or
something—and I was sick the last day of the audition and I was losing
my voice, so I was worried. But I got the call later that day that I
ended up booking the role!

What can you tell us about your character, Ana?

She
is Gaby and Carlos’s niece. She’s kind of been bounced around her whole
childhood from relative to relative because her mom is in prison, and
her dad left when she was really young—and she’s really manipulative.
She knows what she wants and how to get it—and she comes and stays with
Carlos and Gaby. Gaby and her get into many fights.

Is she a sociopath?

[Laughs] I’m not quite sure she is. But she might have some tendencies toward that.

Is it fun playing a character with a mean streak?

You know what? It really is, because it’s so unlike who I am. I don’t talk back to people, so its kind of fun to be able to do that in a scene.

I hear Ana’s involved in a big love triangle with Julie Bowen’s character. Is that true?

At this point, no.
Jesse Metcalfe comes back this season, and Ana gets a crush on him. That stirs up trouble with her and Gaby.

OMG! So is there any chance that Ana’s going to hook up with him?

I can’t tell. I’m sorry.

Fair enough. Is Ana involved in this season’s big DH mystery?

I believe she will be.

What has it been like working with Eva Longoria Parker?

It’s
been wonderful! I’m really inspired by her, just because on top of
being a really great actress, she’s involved with so many different
things, whether it’s her charities that she supports, or executive
producing and hosting the Alma Awards, and having her restaurant. She’s
everywhere, doing everything, and she is so down to earth. So it's
really cool getting to know her and working with her.

Has Eva given you any advice about your work on the show over the last couple of months?

We talk about our scenes
sometimes and how we want them to go. But she just gives good advice in
general about the acting world. She says she was always asked, 'Why are
you in this business when it’s one in a million people who succeed?'
And she says, 'Well why can’t I be that one?' And so I always thought
that was interesting and that kind of stuck with me.

You’ve done a lot of work on Disney, like
Cory in the House. Do you think this role gives you an opportunity to shed your Disney image?

I
don’t know if it has to be about shedding my Disney image. As an actor,
I want to be playing as many different roles as possible, and this is
definitely more of a mature character than the character I played on
Disney. I hope the fans can understand that this is what I do. This is my career, and I love playing as many different
roles as possible. I cant play 15 forever.

Your dad is from Seattle, but your mom is from Brazil. What was it like growing up in a multi-ethnic household?

My
mom moved here when she was 27, so she spent most of her
life in Brazil. It was interesting, because living in America—I was
really trying to fit in with the American teens—and I
think one of the big things is that family is so important in Latin
America. We have to have family dinners every night at 6. So me and my
mom fought a lot back in high school, but I think I’ve matured and we
kind of got to know each other better. We are on really good terms now.