‘You look so different in this role. Can you talk about your physical transformation as Griselda Blanco?
It was hard, but super fun. I had never really done a job that was as complicated and different as this. It was a lot of work. We didn’t want me to look exactly like Blanco because we didn’t have the time to do eight hours of makeup every day. The most important thing was for me—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’. It took us a lot of tests, different wigs, noses, eye brows to get here. I was nervous because I sometimes watch movies and it distracts me to see that a wig is not quite right. I wanted her to look human with all those things on—plastic forehead, fake teeth, eyebrows and nose. I was trying to change as much as I could without looking like I was in a Halloween costume (laughs). I wore a bra that was minimising me, and holding my body so that it wouldn’t move like one of a Latin girl.
Griselda is an anti-hero. Do you have anything in common with her? I’m like her. I would totally kill for my son (laughs). I don’t think I would think twice. I like money, and working hard for it.
You have said that this miniseries is a passion project for you. Why did it take a decade to get made?
There were a million things happening in that decade. First of all, I had never heard of Blanco until very late in my life, even though I grew up in Colombia during the 70s, 80s and 90s, when the narco traffic unfortunately was a big part of our lives. I was doing a lot of things during that time. I was doing Modern Family for 11 years, but at the same time, I was finding out about Griselda. Back then, she was alive, and that was something that stopped me because I didn’t want to create a story about her where there was a happy ending. Then, I saw Narcos, and fell in love with it. I was like, ‘That’s the people that I need to do this show with because they know this world.’
What did you love the most about playing this formidable woman? There were a million things I loved about the character because for an actor to be able to get into the soul of someone so complex is fascinating. I liked that I didn’t understand many things about her. Like how do you get to that point where you’re hurting people? A lot I did understand. Like her, I too am Colombian, a woman, a mother, an immigrant. I have also always been someone who wanted their own money and job.