Sweeps wouldn’t be Sweeps without a high-profile guest star every once in a while. Sweeps correspondent Laurel Marselle caught up with one of the stars of ABC’s red-hot “Desperate Housewives” at the 71st Annual State Street Thanksgiving Parade. Ricardo Chavira plays strong male Carlos Solis, who is currently unaware that his wife Gabrielle is having an affair with their gardener. Chavira wasn’t as oblivious to our reporter’s questions.

Sweeps: Who is the biggest influence in your acting career?

Ricardo Chavira: That’s a hard question because there’s so many different types of acting … some start with theater and then go to TV or film, and there’s some that can do all the different genres. Being Latino, if I could have something similar to what Raul Julia had, I would feel extremely lucky. He was a renaissance man … he could do comedy, film, TV or theater, from Chekhov to Shakespeare in the Park.

S: What about your personal life? Whom do you admire most there?

RC: My dad and my son. It’s funny to find inspiration in someone who is only 2 years old.

S: What is something about you that would surprise your fans?

RC: That I’m a pretty decent woodsman. I hunt with a bow and arrow and not a rifle. Even though hunting is a sport, I don’t do it for sport. If I kill something and don’t eat it, it gets donated. Along with that, there’s a redneck side to me.

S: Did you always love acting? Were you always in the plays as a kid?

RC: Actually, no, I did some plays in sixth and seventh grades and I didn’t touch it until after senior year of high school. I didn’t go to college right away and once I got to college, I didn’t really know what I was gonna take at first. I took an acting class and ended up double majoring in theater and English.

S: What’s your idea of a perfect evening out?

RC: A nice dinner … nothing too extravagant, in an intimate setting. Then a nice way to end the evening is like a walk. Simplicity in dating is best.