Sofía Vergara shares hopes for 'Modern Family' TV movie, talks 'Griselda' role
After 11 years on "Modern Family," Sofía Vergara still considers the sitcom home.
The 52-year-old Colombian actress played the bubbly Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the series, which aired from 2009 to 2020, a role which made her a household name and earned her four Emmy nominations.
"I'd die to be on that set," she told Variety in a new interview when the topic of revisiting the project came up. "It'd be so much fun."
As for what her return to the "Modern Family" might look like, she suggested, "A TV movie maybe?"
Vergara joked that there is one thing that has put a ticking clock on bringing the cast back together: the age of 78-year-old Ed O'Neill, who played her TV husband and family patriarch Jay Pritchett on the sitcom.
"I always joke with him," she said of O'Neill. "[I tell him], 'Ed, don't die. Because if we do the sequel, it will take some time, and you're the oldest of us. You can't be dead!'"
These days, Vergara is embracing her dramatic side on "Griselda", playing the real-life drug lord Griselda Blanco.
One of the things she said differed most about the projects is that she's in a different stage of her life from when "Modern Family" premiered.
"Back then, my lines were easy. It wasn't like monologues," she said of the quips Gloria was given, compared to the material for Griselda. "I'm going through pre-menopause; I can't remember where my glasses are. And now I have to learn all these monologues?"
Plus, getting into character as Griselda required three hours a day in the makeup chair -- half for prosthetics and facial makeup and half for wig application and body makeup -- and toning down her natural charisma for the part.
"I didn't want the bouncing that is natural for Latin women to show," she continued. "I would have to wrap myself so that my butt wouldn't jiggle. 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 when you have this stupid little arm."
It all worked, as Vergara nabbed an Emmy nomination this year for "Griselda", which she collaborated on with "Narcos" showrunner Eric Newman.
Vergara's recognition for "Griselda" -- and even "Modern Family" back in the day -- is big for Latinas in Hollywood, and she said she has a vision for the future for what she thinks would best help with representation for her community.
"I feel the thing that would change the entertainment business for Latinos is to have Latin writers," she explained. "If there were more Latin writers, then they would know how to incorporate us."
