Dream girl: when Michelle C. Bonilla plays a lesbian fantasy woman in Getting to Know You, it's a case of art imitating life.

If you're an ER fan, you've certainly seen Michelle C. Bonilla playing a paramedic who bursts through the doors of County General shouting something like, "BP 100 over 80, pulse ox 89, left leg crushed ..." Or, if you're a Trekkie, you know her as a Klingon named Bu'kaH on Star Trek: Enterprise, complete with furrowed forehead and prosthetic teeth. And if you watched Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, you might remember her as the character Teresa Morales.

This summer you can discover Bonilla in a role much closer to home--as Claire, the lesbian dream girl (half fantasy, half real) in Liz Lachman's playful new short film, Getting to Know You. We decided it's time to get to know the dreamy lesbian Bonilla ourselves.

So you grew up in L.A.'s Hollywood neighborhood--what was that like?

I would skateboard down Orange Drive, ending in the Shakey's Pizza parking lot, where I met these really tall Amazon women who took good care of me. Of course, I found out later they were transvestites. And next door lived an original Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz, Billy Curtis. I was best friends with his granddaughter, and his wife, Joan, sat us down every Saturday night to watch Busby Berkeley and Doris Day movies.

Did you know early on that you wanted to act?

I really didn't know what it was called, but I knew that's exactly what I wanted to do. I had a record player with a Donna Summer album, a Crystal Gayle album, and a Linda Ronstadt album, and my uncle would put me on top of a table and say, "Sing!" And I would sing along with those records at the top of my lungs. I had an instant audience, and I loved it.

You worked as a techie in your high school drama department but went to Cal State Northridge to learn the acting ropes. Why didn't you stay for a degree?

After one more class of History of Theater, or Kabuki 2000, I thought, Where am I going to get my acting lessons? On a whim I went up to a girl who was a brilliant actor and asked, "Who do you study with?" And she said, "Truth is, I don't just study here--I study with this woman in Hollywood." That day, everyone was scrambling to get into classes, and I was signing out of them. That night I was in tears on my bed, saying, "Mom, I'm not going to go to school. I can't do what I need to do there." And she said, "That's OK, mi hija, if that's what you need to do." Did you know early on that you were gay? I thought about it, but I didn't really know until I was older. I got into my first relationship with a woman in my mid 20s [Bonilla is now 30]. I was with guys before that, but they never really panned out--I wonder why! I was so career-focused that it was OK. But in that first relationship with a woman, I realized, Oh, this is what everybody's talking about. I felt alive. I felt, Wow, this is what it feels like to be in love. I had never felt that before.

You're Mexican-American--along with Blackfoot and Aztec Indian--and you're also quite beautiful. Do you feel your looks and ethnicity get you typecast?

Yesterday I went out on an audition where they wanted a Latin woman; this week I went out on a play where technically I would get the white-woman role. I play a wedding planner in a movie premiering July 17 on Showtime [Sexual Life, with Anne Heche and Dule Hill], and I just finished doing a national Lay's commercial as Barbecue Mom. When they were looking for a Klingon, I went in there and I was Bu'kaH [laughs heartily]. I have never, knock on wood, been typecast. The great thing is that people don't know what I am [ethnically], and I like it that way because I can really do anything.

Have you ever been stereotyped because you're a lesbian?

It's never really been an issue. No one has really asked! But I don't hide it. I've been very blessed to have been judged on the quality of my work instead of my sexuality. And that's what I'd hope it would be about. A lot of people think that I'm straight, so when I walk down the street with my girlfriend, people turn around ...

You're currently in a relationship?

Yes, for over two years. I'll keep her anonymity. She's not in the business, that's what I'll say--thank God!

Getting to Know You is the first film in which you "played gay." How was it doing the fantasy lesbian sex scene?

It was very technical; I didn't want to block her light, and I didn't want her to block my light. And I wanted to make sure I got it right in terms of it being the character's fantasy--what would be fantastic to see? Making the film was really easy and fun. We all had a blast.

Kort is a senior editor at Ms. magazine.