Off the Map Star Is Off the Hook

ABC

I just interviewed Valerie Cruz, one of the stars of Off the Map, which is basically Grey's Anatomy with mosquitoes.

Here's some more of what Val -- who plays Doctor "Zee" Alvarez -- told me.

Me: You were the staff psychologist on Nip/Tuck. Are you getting typed?

Cruz: I feel the opposite. I've played a cop, a vampire, a housewife, and now I'm a doctor. Actually, this is first time I've played a doctor-doctor. I wish there was more of a type for me. "We have to get her for this job."

Me: Is there anything you'd like your Off the Map character to do that she hasn't?

Cruz: She's usually holding the clinic down while the boys have crazy adventures. Maybe she should have a girl adventure.

Me: Contact me if you need some ideas for that. Is she a jack of all trades kind of doctor?

Cruz: Yes, but she definitely has her interests in botanical medicine and jungle type medicine. She has her garden.

Me: Any weed in there?

Cruz: There might be. Not in the episodes so far. [Laughs.]

Me: How do you deal with all the bugs on the set? A baseball bat?

Cruz: There's something called Bite Away. It stops the bite from getting really, really big. If it swells, you use makeup -- and don't scratch.

Me: On a more pleasant note: I notice quite a bit of shirtlessness on the show.

Cruz: Martin Henderson is shirtless a lot. They're all in states of undress! [Laughs.]

Me: But you're engaged, right?

Cruz: I am. Jason George [her TV lover] is married, too, so it's kind of perfect. How lucky I am to love both my husbands!