Emmy-nominated Sofia Vergara’s painful connection to the role of drug lord “Griselda”

Emmy nominee Sofia Vergara has a painful connection to her role as real-life Colombian drug kingpin Griselda Blanco. The 52-year-old actress, who was nominated for lead actress in a limited series for her performance in “Griselda,” will compete against fellow nominees Jodie Foster, Naomi Watts, Brie Larson and Juno Temple at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night.

Before the ceremony, Vergara gave an interview to Variety in which she recounted how her older brother Rafael was killed in a kidnapping attempt by a Colombian cartel in 1996.

“It destroyed my family,” Vergara said.

“It destroyed my mother,” she continued. “It changed our lives completely. We didn't know what had happened, why he had been killed.”

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Vergara has previously spoken out about her brother's untimely death, which remains unexplained and occurred in her hometown of Barraquilla, Colombia.

“We come from a successful family and he knew he was a target for kidnapping,” Vergara once said in an interview. “He always had bodyguards. Then one day he went out alone and was shot. I was devastated.”

Speaking to Variety, Vergara recalled that she was living in the United States at the time of the tragedy. A year earlier, the “America's Got Talent” judge had moved from Colombia to Miami, where she raised her son Manolo (now 32) and worked as a presenter for Univision.

Vergara was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance. (Pablo Cuadra/FilmMagic)

After Rafael's murder, Vergara convinced her mother, sister and younger brother Julio to move to Miami and live with her.

“Mother was like a zombie,” she told Parade in 2011. “I wanted to be with them. So I bought a big house and we all lived together. I'm so grateful to be in this country.”

“It changed our lives completely. We didn't know what was happening, why he was killed.”

— Sofia Vergara

During her interview with Variety, Vergara admitted that it was a “tough” time for her as she “had to take responsibility for my entire family.”

However, the actress explained that her tragic connection to the world of cartel violence later motivated her to portray Blanco. In 2006, Vergara watched “Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami,” a docuseries about Miami drug lords Willy Falcon and Sal Magluta, and became fascinated with Blanco.

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Vergara told Variety that she found it hard to imagine that “this Colombian woman with four children is one of the most ruthless drug traffickers in history.” She was drawn to the role of Blanco, but telling the story of the “Cocaine Godmother” was too dangerous while the drug lord was still alive.

Blanco was killed in 2012 at the age of 69 when she was shot as she left a butcher shop in Medellin.

The “Modern Family” actress had never acted in a drama before “Griselda”. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

In 2015, Vergara saw the first episode of the Netflix series “Narcos,” which follows the rise of notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. She later contacted “Narcos” showrunner Eric Newman about creating a project centered around Blanco.

After years of development, “Griselda” was greenlit by Netflix in 2021, with Vergara set to star and produce.

While the actress was excited that her passion project was finally moving forward, she told Variety that she was worried about taking on a role that was different from anything she had played before.

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Vergara became a household name for her role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the ABC sitcom “Modern Family.” Her performance earned her four Emmy nominations and four Golden Globes during the show's run from 2009 to 2020. She has also starred in a number of films, including the 2011 ensemble romantic comedy “New Year's Eve,” the 2013 action thriller “Machete Kills,” and the 2015 action comedy “Hot Pursuit.”

However, she had never acted in a drama or played a lead role in a show before “Griselda.” Speaking to Variety, Vergara said she had never taken acting classes before and decided she “needed help.”

“I thought to myself, 'OK, what comedy actress has done something good in a drama?'” she recalled. “Jennifer Aniston!”

Vergara was a producer and played the lead role in “Griselda”. (Netflix)

Vergara then enlisted the help of Aniston's longtime acting coach Nancy Banks, but she still found it difficult to develop the dramatic acting skills she needed for the role of Blanco.

The actress recalled that she had never been in a scene that required her to cry and did not know how to bring tears to her eyes in front of the camera.

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“Nancy said, 'If you want to cry, just think of something,'” Vergara recalled. “And I had to think of a lot of horrible things.”

Although she learned to cry on screen, Vergara said her negative thoughts continued to plague her even after filming wrapped. She told Variety that she became worried after having trouble sleeping during the first three weeks of filming on the production.

“I was nervous. Nancy told me, 'You're dead, you're screaming, crying – everything – during the day. You go home and your body doesn't know that you didn't really do and feel those things,'” Vergara said.

She continued, “So I had to start taking a little Xanax at night to calm myself down. I wasn't prepared for that. I didn't know. That's why actors go crazy! How can they keep this up for years?”

Vergara said she spent three hours doing her makeup every day. (Netflix)

Another skill that was challenging for Vergara was memorizing all of her character's dialogue, including long monologues.

“Back then, the lines came easily to me,” she said of her time on “Modern Family.” “It wasn't like monologues.”

“I'm premenopausal and I can't remember where my glasses are,” Vergara joked. “And now I have to learn all these monologues?”

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In addition to learning new acting skills, Vergara also had to deal with the physical aspects of transforming into her role. Achieving Blanco's look, which included fitting prosthetics and a wig, as well as face and body makeup, took three hours every day.

Vergara told Variety that while she had to hide her famous curves to portray Blanco realistically, she didn't want her to appear completely devoid of sex appeal.

“She may not have been a Barbie doll, but the real Griselda Blanco had something – she had a kind of sex appeal that I had to show,” Vergara said.

She continued, “I didn't want the natural Latina bounce to show. I had to cover myself up so my butt wouldn't shake. I had to wear a really bad bra. I had to cover my arms because I have very skinny arms and you don't look threatening with that stupid little arm.”

Vergara's performance received critical acclaim. (Netflix)

In addition, Vergara said she relied on director Andrés Baiz, who also taught her other skills she needed for the role.

“I had never smoked in my life. Andy came to my house a month before filming began. We talked about the script and he taught me how to smoke and how to use cocaine and crack,” she recalls.

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When it came to creating Blanco's character, Vergara told Variety she wanted to portray the drug lord as “the villain that you feel guilty about and root for.”

Despite the tragic loss of her brother at the hands of a cartel, Vergara said she wanted viewers to have some sympathy for Blanco, but she realized she had too much sympathy for her character.

“I had to control myself and say, 'Sofía, this woman just killed hundreds of people and children.' It was very difficult not to romanticize her or portray her as a hero,” Vergara said. “She had become a psychopath.”

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Vergara's commitment to her role paid off when her performance received critical acclaim following the premiere of “Griselda” in January.

After being nominated for an Emmy in July, the actress shared a heartfelt message with her fans on Instagram, expressing her gratitude and remembering “Griselda’s” long journey to the screen.

“Wow. Griselda was my first dramatic role ever and it took us 15 years to bring her to life,” Vergara wrote. “I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who was a part of this show. I could never have done it without my director Andres Baiz, my co-star @el_guerra, @ericnewmanofficial and the entire creative team, my partner and producer @luisbalaguer1, @tedsarandos, @belabaj and her team at @Netflix, and the entire amazing cast and crew.”

“I never imagined that after 'Modern Family,' I would be a part of something as special as 'Griselda,'” she added. “I am honored to be recognized alongside Jodi, Brie, Juno and Naomi, incredible women who have given us incredible television this year.”

“Thank you to the Television Academy for this incredible honor.”

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