With roles on a number of high-profile series, out actor Alec Mapa is a recognizable face to television audiences – gay viewers, in particular. Mapa is Gabrielle’s gay best friend Vern on “Desperate Housewives,” Suzuki St. Pierre, the host of “Fashion Buzz” on “Ugly Betty,” and host of the groundbreaking reality dating show, “Transamerican Love Story” on LOGO. TV lovers may also remember him from the short-lived 2001 series, “Some of My Best Friends,” based on the film Kiss Me Guido, which was written by a pre-“Desperate Housewives” Marc Cherry, and had Mapa playing another gay character named Vern opposite Jason Bateman.

Mapa’s film work has ranged from his first in 1988’s Bright Lights, Big City to this summer’s Adam Sandler vehicle, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.

The Gay & Lesbian Times spoke with the affable Mapa about his efforts raising gay visibility on and off the screen, his time spent on the set of “Ugly Betty,” his new one-man show, “America’s Gaysian Sweetheart,” and where his love of acting was born.

“I was a gay drama nerd in high school,” Mapa said. “And I was a big, big stoner, and I think that had everything to do with [the fact] I was a gay teenager, and I couldn’t deal. I took one look around me and went, ‘I’m not going to deal with this in a sober way.’ And drama class was the only thing I showed up for; it was the only thing I was completely present for, and felt like I belonged, and felt like I excelled in.

“And despite my horrible grades, I got into NYU, and I went to NYU for four years. In my class were people like Molly Shannon and Adam Sandler, and we were all the weird kids in college – none of us got cast in any shows.”

That didn’t prove to be the case post college – Mapa carved out his niche in the entertainment field scoring his first gig in the Broadway play M. Butterfly.

After the run on Broadway, Mapa switched coasts, at which point his career leaned out.

“I came out to L.A., and I didn’t work for almost three years,” he said. “And then I just started doing stand-up as my default. I was like, ‘If no one is going to give me a job, I’ll make one for myself.’ And doing stand up and solo shows is what got me sitcoms.”

Nowadays, Mapa is delving back into his stand-up routine with “America’s Gaysian Sweetheart,” which he calls “really dirty and blue,” and showcases the comic in a self-deprecating light.

“I always need to be doing something, or I get depressed. The inactivity always brings out my own flaws and I go on a shame spiral,” Mapa said, jokingly.

For the GLAAD Award-winning actor, there hasn’t been any shame in being out and proud.

“I always worried what being out would do to my career,” he said. “But the truth is I really didn’t have a career until I was out – because I think it was the first authentic thing I had to offer. I don’t like doing a comedy where the joke is on the gay person – that’s the only thing I draw the line on. If there’s a joke, I want to be telling it; the gay person should be telling it.”

Between his roles on “Desperate Housewives” and “Ugly Betty,” Mapa is pinching himself to be sure this isn’t all a dream.

“It’s so weird, because there’s been this huge groundswell of support for me this year, ’cause I was on two very visible shows. But I have also been doing this for 20 years, I’ve been toiling away,” he said. “It’s so much fun that it’s not work! We work really long hours, but I don’t care, and I love it when it’s like that – when you’re fortunate enough to get to do what you love for a living, it’s not work at all. So I feel extraordinarily lucky.”

Working alongside talented actors is another perk to Mapa’s success.

“On ‘Ugly Betty’ a lot of the time I’m working with a green screen,” he said. “But I do see people in passing. When I’m in the makeup trailer, I’m usually next to Rebecca Romijn or Vanessa Williams, so I see them that way. And both of those women are so beautiful, I stare at them like they’re paintings because I can’t believe they’re real. It’s like, ‘Wow! What must it be to look like that?’ But the fact that they are both practical, funny gals, who happen to be smart is a big plus.

“[And] Becki Newton and Michael Urie are hilarious! And they are actually best friends in real life; so the writers get a lot of the ideas for the exchanges between Amanda and Marc on the show, just by watching Michael and Becki in real life.”

Another bit of luck for Mapa was the opportunity to host the LOGO dating show “Transamerican Love Story,” which he says displayed tremendous tact.

“I didn’t want to do something that was creepy and Jerry Springer-y,” he said. “With trans people, a lot of people focus exclusively on their transitions – so the show was very self-deprecating and funny, and all of the guys wanted to date a transgender woman, so I wanted to be a part of that. And, it turned out to be an extraordinarily kind and funny, sweet show.”

Aside from being a gay actor in demand, Mapa also gave us his thoughts on what it means to be an Asian-American on television.

“Well, I think it’s changing, but it still feels like it’s kind of a big deal,” he said. “But I think as time goes on, and as television shows are becoming more and more diverse, it’s becoming less and less of a big deal. And I think that’s great. When you think about all of the hit shows that are on right now – ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ ‘Heroes,’ ‘Lost,’ ‘Ugly Betty’ and ‘Desperate Housewives’ – they all have really racially diverse casts, and they are hits.”

So what’s Mapa’s dream role?

“It would either be Peter Pan or Martha in ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ – then I’d get to drink all night onstage,” Mapa quipped.

Off camera Mapa has done more than his fair share to raise awareness through a number of GLBT causes.

“I’m busy with The Human Rights Campaign and The Matthew Shepard Foundation, and I do those things because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “But I also feel like I’m being useful, and that’s important. This is stuff I always did; the only difference is I’m on a television show, so it gets attention.”