A Few Stolen Moments with Knights' Sexy Sofia Vergara

The reaction from the rest of The Knights of Prosperity (Wednesdays at 9 pm, on ABC) pretty much said it all, when Sofia Vergara's disgruntled waitress asked to join their gang. (Perhaps Rockefeller put it best, uttering in his deep baritone, "Mi casa es su casa, baby.") TVGuide.com stole a few moments with the Latina stunner to discuss, among other things, whether there is enough room at ABC for her and Salma Hayek.

TVGuide.com: I'm sorry I didn't get around to Q&Aing you last year for ABC's Hot Properties, but, um, time was short there.
Sofia Vergara: [Laughs] Yes, it was!

TVGuide.com: Did you get a familiar "uh-oh" feeling when the Knights of Prosperity title kept changing and the premiere date kept getting pushed back?
Vergara: Well, of course. It's always hard when things don't go as planned, but everything happens for a reason. So we will wait and see what happens this time around.

TVGuide.com: How has it been being the lone woman on this cast among all these "manly men"?
Vergara: It's been amazing. At the beginning it was a little bit hard, because I was coming from working with all girls on Hot Properties. But now they're all my friends, and I'm one of them. I'm learning a lot about men! [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: Do you think Esperanza is totally oblivious to Eugene's crush? Does she have any idea that he's sweet on her?
Vergara: I think she does, but I think she also knows that he harbors some kind of feeling of respect and appreciation for her, which is nice. I think she likes that.

TVGuide.com: In this week's episode, Rockefeller is given $150,000 in cash to courier to New Jersey, as a test for his new job at Mick Jagger's security firm, and apparently there is some dispute about whether the Knights should simply take that money and run. What's Esperanza's viewpoint on the situation?
Vergara: Well, you have to see it! [Laughs] They're not letting me talk about anything that happens in the episodes.

TVGuide.com: Have you yourself ever seen $150,000 in one place at one time?
Vergara: Oh, yeah....

TVGuide.com: Really?! Under what circumstances?
Vergara: Um....

TVGuide.com: You're not at liberty to say?
Vergara: No. [Laughs] I'm being recorded, after all.

TVGuide.com: As I watched the "Operation: Seduce Simone" episode, I was wondering if it would turn out that Esperanza would be more to Simone's tastes.
Vergara: Oh, you were hoping that it was going to be me and her?

TVGuide.com: Hey, I didn't say "hoping," I said "wondering."
Vergara: Oh, OK. [Laughs] [The show publicist interjects to say, "This is ABC, not Home Box Office!"]

TVGuide.com: Yeah, I suppose that may have aroused the FCC. So I'm poking around your website and I see pictures of you dressed up as Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. What's that about?
Vergara: I did a TV commercial for American Express in Prague, and I was supposed to be Lara Croft. I had to train to do special jumps and things.... It was a lot of fun.

TVGuide.com: Your bio says that you are a very, very avid reader. What book have you just finished?
Vergara: I just finished a very good book, the last book by Mario Vargas Llosa, a very famous Latin American, award-winning writer. But I read everything. I read a lot of Indian authors, Latin Americans... anything that I find interesting, I read.

TVGuide.com: And what are you recommending to people these days, if they ask you?
Vergara: Hmm, let me think.... My last trip was to Argentina, and every time I go to a country I buy books, so most of the ones I have now are in Spanish. [Laughs] But all of the books by Paolo Coelho, a Brazilian author who has been translated into more than 80 languages, are amazing.

TVGuide.com: Switching from brains to beauty: What's the craziest thing you've ever had to do for one of those "lad mag" photo shoots?
Vergara: No, no, nothing... nothing crazy. We try to do stuff that is maybe to show a little bit here and there, but nothing too bad.

TVGuide.com: Lastly, is there enough room on ABC for you and Salma Hayek, two voluptuous Latinas?
Vergara: Of course there is! For me, her and more!

Send your comments on this Q&A to online_insider@tvguide.com.