After starring in Modern Family for 11 years as the feisty Gloria Pritchett, Sofia Vergara has been discussing how pivotal her new role in the Netflix drama Griselda has been for the next chapter of her career.
The 51-year-old star is a far-cry from her usual Modern Family persona in the new projects as she plays a Columbian drug lord. And she has explained how she found this stark transition very challenging, but equally rewarding.
“I had never really done a job that was as complicated and as different as I really am. So it was a lot of work, a lot of thinking, a lot of help from [director Andrés Baiz], a lot of help from hair and make-up,” she told Digital Spy.
“We did a lot of tests to find her. We knew from the beginning that we didn’t want me to look exactly like Griselda Blanco because we didn’t have time. We were doing a TV show, we didn’t have eight hours to do make-up every day,” she continued.
Adding: “But the most important thing for me was to disappear, for Sofia to disappear, Gloria Pritchett from Modern Family to disappear. I didn’t want people to think, ‘oh that’s Gloria with a fake nose’. That was my main, main, main worry.”
This was an arduous process as well as a creative one. Vergara would have to sit in make-up for hours on end while they tested “different wigs, different noses, different eyebrows” in order to literally transform her away from audience perceptions.
Griselda is coming to Netflix on January 25th. it comes with the following official synopsis: “Griselda tells the story of a devoted mother who created one of the most profitable cartels in history.”
Continuing: “Witness how her lethal blend of unsuspected savagery and charm helped her to expertly navigate between business and family when the series premieres.”
