Poster: Vinni_Rattolle
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Alec Mapa was born to play the role of Vern Limoso on CBS-TV's "Me and Frankie Z" (formerly "Kiss Me Guido") [and ultimately "Some of My Best Friends"]. The character of Vern was originally envisioned as a white, overweight gay outsider, someone who didn't fit in. Enter Mapa -- an Asian and buffly petite gay outsider born to a conservative traditional Filipino family. Mapa relates, "In Los Angles, if you're gay and overweight, they make you move." Well, nobody thought Mapa was perfect for the part, even though he was repeatedly called back to audition for it. Not until the zero hour did Mapa get cast. As the only gay actor in the cast, the show's producers call Mapa "the authentic voice." A militant gay Asian activist since growing up "without any gay Asian role models," the former "quintessential schoolyard sissy" is never afraid to voice his mind. "I don't think there should be any homophobic jokes that the audience is designed to agree with. If there is a homophobic joke, it should be there for the audience to hear as a homophobic joke. When Archie Bunker says something racist, you know he's saying something racist. The humor that comes from it is you're laughing at his ignorance."
Mapa has always been able to turn his lemons into lemonade. After hitting it big on Broadway in the fiercely coveted title role of "M Butterfly," Mapa's idyllic life took a drastic turn. Within six months of finishing "Butterfly," his boyfriend left him, his accountant ran off with his money and his mother passed away. With no acting parts coming his way, Mapa waited tables at the California Pizza Kitchen in Encino. Of course, you would know this and much more of his life if you were to attend one of Mapa's solo stage performances of "I Remember Mapa" or "Pointless," his autobiographical pieces hysterically recounting all the trials and tribulations of his not-too-happy times.
Mapa's happier than in 1999 when he was doing "Pointless," which was "all about me being single after three years. It's so easy to fall back on your old patterns. And nothing brings those patterns up quicker to me than dating. I was doing all the things you're supposed to be doing after breaking up -- going out, dating, having sex -- I was miserable. I'm now at the point where I'm really doing what I want to do -- which is to be left alone. Single at 35 is so much different than being single at 25. You're so absolutely convinced that if you're not out every night partying, you're missing something. And now I've reached such a comfort zone, I'm doing alright, I love being home and I can actually afford the stuff in the Pottery Barn catalogue. I just love nesting. I'm not looking (for a lover) and you can't fake that vibe. You do get a lot of play when you're not looking. But when you are horny and want to get laid, you try to cop out that vibe of 'I'm not looking, I don't care,' nobody buys it." If Mapa was looking, he wants someone as independent as he is, someone who is really jazzed about what he does and is occupied with from 9 to 5 with something that he loves doing. Mapa also dates men of all races, "so long as they are freakishly tall."
Mapa always knew he was gay, "but being okay with it is a recent thing. Being an effeminate gay kid, you either crumble or you're extroverted. I created myself. I wasn't a jock. I couldn't pass for straight." Mapa never really chose to do drag, but those were the parts he was up for. "I've always been small and androgynous and I fit the costume. And I can act." Other roles his agent sent him out for were for Chinatown gang members. "The only thing I could lead a Chinese gang to is a White Sale at Bloomingdales." Mapa has since developed a "nice character actor" niche for himself. You may have seen him guest-starring on a number of TV shows -- "Dharma and Greg," "NYPD Blue," "Seinfeld," "Friends." Mapa's brand of outsider gay persona is in right now. Like the first time he was shaking hands with Sally Field, he thought, "She likes me! She really likes me!"
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