Sofia Vergara is willing to go all in for a role, but revealed in a new interview that it can sometimes be difficult to get out of the character’s headspace.
The actress, 51, joined Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Anna Sawai, Jodie Foster, and Brie Larson for a new edition of The Hollywood Reporter’s Roundtable, with the TV stars opening up about their respective experiences in the industry.
Sofia spoke candidly about transitioning from the humor of Modern Family to the grit and character-driven transformation of the Netflix series Griselda.
The miniseries debuted in January to positive reviews, with the leading star herself receiving critical acclaim for her dramatic and edgy turn as the Colombian drug lord.
However, she explained in her interview how it was difficult to combat bringing “the rage home” from set and to keep her character’s more incendiary emotions at bay, sometimes with the help of actual medication.
She credited Jennifer’s own acting coach Nancy Banks for helping her prepare for the role while admitting: “I’ve only done Modern Family, really, so I didn’t know what I was walking into.”
© Netflix“And when I arrived, I realized this is different, and it’s hard when you have to cry and kill and choke and snort cocaine and drink alcohol. And I’d never in my life touched a cigarette. Never.”
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She continued: “I had to learn, and to learn at 50 years old to smoke and you’re going to be in every single scene smoking. OK. The first three weeks, I’d go home and I didn’t know what was wrong with me.”
© Getty ImagesSofia set more of the scene for her troubles, describing being unable to properly fall asleep once home from set, finding it difficult to fully rest and recover before the next day of filming. “I couldn’t fall asleep.”
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“I decided to take Xanax because I had to wake up the next day to go again. It was either I start sleeping or I’m going to die. I was talking to Nancy, too. I was like, ‘Nancy, I don’t know if I’m going to survive this.’ She’s like, ‘You’re an actor now.'”
© Orange County Sheriff’s DepartmentJennifer shared some more insight herself into Nancy’s methods as an acting coach, adding: “It’s so interesting because the way she works is that you’re unlocking some stuff that you’ve very wonderfully been [pushing] down into the depths of your body.”
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Sofia continued to explain how she found herself much more comfortable within the comedic sphere, like her award-winning Modern Family turn, adding: “And I come from Colombia, I’ve had a lot of crazy stories, it’s why I knew I could do Griselda, but those were the things that my whole life, to keep my sanity, [I buried.]”
“Then here comes this woman who tells me, ‘OK, bring it out,'” she added, referring then to the other women in the room who have built their careers doing hefty dramas. “I don’t know how you guys do it all the time, those dramas. Comedy is so much nicer.”
