ON THE EMMY-nominated ABC sitcom Ugly Betty, Mark Indelicato plays Justin, the sassy, scene-stealing, fashion-obsessed nephew of main character Betty Suarez.

His part in the show was initially supposed to be minor, Indelicato says, but audiences loved Justin, so Ugly Betty’s writers responded by giving the character more screen time. In the show’s fourth season, which premiered in October, Justin has a big story line in which he struggles to find his identity while starting high school. “[Fans] want to know what’s going on with him,” says Indelicato. “It’s a big year in season four; he’s evolved so much.”

Like costar Ana Ortiz, who plays Betty’s sister Hilda, the now New York-based Indelicato has ties to the area. He was born in Bristol and grew up in Langhorne—“right near Sesame Place,” the 15-year-old actor says—and often makes time to visit family and friends back home. Indelicato started acting in productions like A Christmas Carol at the Walnut Street Theatre and credits his smooth transition into television to his stage experience. “Theater prepared me [for acting in front of the camera]. It helped me because you have to memorize so much in so little time and it’s kind of the opposite in films,” he says. “[With movies], you have rehearsal time, set-up time. On the stage you don’t get another take until the next night. [You just have] that one chance to impress an audience.”

When he wants to break away from the demands of being a young TV star, Indelicato heads back to Bucks County—specifically to his Uncle Bob’s restaurant, Annabella’s. “It has the most amazing Italian food,” he says. “You can get amazing Italian food in New York—it’s just a lot more expensive than in Bristol.”