Sofía Vergara is an actress who seemingly exudes confidence in everything she does. Because of her stunning beauty and spunky attitude, fans might find themselves wondering: What can’t she do? In a recent interview, however, Sofía poked fun at her accent and how it can sometimes limit the roles she can pursue.
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Sofía is known for playing Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on Modern Family and for working as a judge on America’s Got Talent. For her most recent project, the Colombian and American actress pushed past her comfort zone to embody an infamous drug lord in Netflix’s Griselda. And in promoting the drama series, Sofía got real about her own limitations.
Sofía referenced her ‘stupid accent’ in a recent interview.
During an interview with the Los Angeles Times published on January 22, Sofía spoke about her role in the upcoming Netflix series, in which she portrays Griselda Blanco, a Colombian drug lord. “I’m always looking for characters because there’s not much that I can play with this stupid accent,” she told the newspaper. “I can’t play a scientist or be in Schindler’s List. My acting jobs are kind of limited.”
She compared herself to other Latina actors.
“Eva Longoria doesn’t have an accent. Jennifer Lopez doesn’t have an accent. Jessica Alba doesn’t have an accent. Is it frustrating? Of course. In the beginning, more than now,” Sofía continued. “And the frustration was towards me. How come I can’t… get this right? I’ve been here for 30 years. How dumb can I be? I have to fight in English… act in English. It’s exhausting.”
Sofía recently clapped back at a snarky comment about her English.
This isn’t the first time Sofía’s English has been a topic of conversation. Earlier this month, she appeared on a Spanish talk show, El Hormiguero, to promote Griselda. Interviewer Pablo Motos asked her, "How do you say Modern Family?" Sofia was visibly upset about the rude comment that not-so-subtly poked fun at her accent.
"I say it wrong? Oh, because you speak better English than me? Ah,” Sofía shot back at Pablo, per the Daily Mail. She then looked away with a disgusted look on her face.
After Pablo attempted to move on, Sofía asked him, “How many Emmy nominations do you have in the United States? How many times did they nominate you at the Golden Globes?"
She had doubts about her acting going into ‘Gridelda.’
Although her accent was not an issue for Griselda, taking the plunge from comedy to drama was daunting for Sofía.
“I had no clue what it meant to have a process,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “It was tricky because I don’t have any real training as an actor. I was married to Joe [Manganiello], who is a f—ing classically trained actor. I would ask things and I would see how he would prepare. I was kind of always like, ‘What do real actors do? Can I do this?’”
Sofía hired an acting coach to help her.
To help her fully embody Griselda Blanco, Sofía hired an acting coach to help her named Nancy Banks, who challenged her to conceptualize her character using different methods. Still, Sofía had doubts in the beginning.
“The night before I was going to start shooting, I was sitting down in the living room and I thought, ‘Why the f— did I think I could do this?’” Vergara said. “‘Just because I put on a rubber nose, they’re not going to know that Gloria Pritchett is talking?’ They’re going to say, ‘Who does she think she is?’”
What is Netflix's ‘Griselda’ about?
Griselda follows the rise and fall of Griselda Blanco, a “devoted mother who created one of the most profitable cartels in history,” according to the Netflix description. “Witness how her lethal blend of unsuspected savagery and charm helped her to expertly navigate between business and family.”
As of January 25, all six episodes of Griselda are now streaming on Netflix.
