You've Got to HAVE FAITH

The Access Hollywood host shares his secrets for a happy and successful life

- Lucille Barilla

MARIO LOPEZ

TV host and actor Mario Lopez approached turning 50 with more excitement than dread. “It’s weird, I think I am so thrilled about being 50 that I haven’t absorbed it,” Mario, who celebrated the Oct. 10 event with a family-and-friends trip to Mexico, tells Closer. “It may not hit me that hard until I turn 51. That could be like, ‘Dang, I’m on the other side now!’”

Approaching life with a smile has helped Mario go far. He first became a familiar face on television in the 1990s, playing A.C. Slater on the teenage comedy Saved by the Bell. While he has continued to act, in adulthood Mario found a whole new audience as a television host. These days, he’s doing double duty as a co-host on NBC’s Access Hollywood and Access Daily. Mario is also a husband and the father of three school-age children, Gia, Dominic and Santino.

Happy birthday! Of course, they say that age is relative. 

It’s funny, I was on The Golden Girls [in 1987]. Those ladies were in their early 50s! The character of Blanche was supposed to be 47. That’s wild when I think about it. Now I’m in that age bracket!

Is this what you thought 50 would feel like?

I feel great. I still participate in very physical activities like jiujitsu boxing. It makes me feel alive; but the [slower] recovery time of my body reminds me very quickly that I’m not that young anymore.

Not every actor can also be a good TV host. How did your upbringing prepare you to tackle different kinds of performing?