Sofia Vergara underwent a serious physical transformation for her new role in Netflix’s Griselda.
“I needed to disappear,” Vergara, 51, told E! News in a Wednesday, January 18, interview. “It was in Miami in the ’70s and the ’80s. Getting the look correct was very important to me.”
Vergara has taken on the role of Griselda Blanco in the series, out January 25, an infamous Colombian drug lord who creates one of the most profitable cartels in history.
Getting Vergara ready for the role had a lot of moving parts, director Andrés Baiz shared. “Her physical transformation, that was one of the toughest aspects of the whole show,” Baiz told E!. “What we decided was that she has to be different than Sofía, but we shouldn’t imitate Griselda Blanco.”
Vergara sat for hours in makeup every day for Griselda. Her makeup artist, Todd McIntosh, and hairstylist, Kelly Kline, revealed that the process included 5 wigs for multiple different timelines as well as prosthetic eyebrows, a fake nose and false yellowed teeth (Griselda was a big smoker.) Vergara even changed her posture as Griselda ages throughout the show.
Co-creator Eric Newman said that when Vergara stepped on set, no one could tell it was her. “By the time she left her makeup trailer, she was Griselda. And that’s why Sofia is so perfect,” he shared.
But the physical transformation wasn’t the only thing that Vergara had to get. She also had to get the essence of Griselda, who was a woman of firsts despite their evil underbelly. “There are so many nuances to explore in terms of who she was — as a woman, as a mother, and, of course, as a drug lord who created one of the most profitable cartels in history,” she told E!.
“She was not as famous as someone like Pablo Escobar, but even he was scared of her at the time. She stood on her own.”
But not glamorizing Griselda was something equally important for Vergara and the team behind the series. “The truth is as much as Griselda broke down barriers, she’s definitely not a hero.” Vergara continued, “It is not about a glamorous life—it was often bloody and terrifying. In the world she came from, she did what she knew how to do.”
