Sofía Vergara on Her Amazing Transformation Into Cartel Boss for ‘Griselda’ (VIDEO)

“No one ever saw her on set as Sofía. By the time she left her makeup trailer, she was Griselda. And that’s why Sofía’s so perfect,” according to co-creator and executive producer Eric Newman.

In the new Netflix series, premiering January 25, Sofía Vergara stars as the savvy and ambitious Griselda Blanco, who created one of the most powerful cartels in history. “She was not as famous as someone like Pablo Escobar, but even he was scared of her at the time,” Vergara, who is also an executive producer on Griselda, says in a new video all about her transformation into the character released by the streamer. “She stood on her own.”

One of the toughest aspects was the physical transformation. “I had an incredible hair and makeup design team that did an amazing job creating this character who was in the world of Miami in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Getting the look correct was very important to me because I needed to disappear,” says Vergara. “I wanted no one to think of me or my last role as Gloria Pritchett. I wanted to get inside Griselda’s head and really understand her mentality, where she was coming from.”

Adds director and executive producer Andrés Baiz, “Sofía and I decided we needed to find a physical look that made Sofía look different from Sofía Vergara, but without trying to imitate the real Griselda Blanco. So any difference that would give Sofía confidence was what became important — in the eyebrows, the nose, hair. She wanted to feel like a different person, but not to the point in which the prosthetics or make-up took over her performance. It had to be subtle. This transformation is achieved also through behavior: the way she walks, the way she moves, the way she stares or laughs. Sofía had never smoked in her life, Griselda smokes all the time.”

Elizabeth Morris/Netlfix

It took hours each day in makeup to complete the look, with Vergara in every scene. There were also five wigs used for the different time periods, and Vergara changed her posture and the way she holds her hands.

“Some of these clothes are just absolutely incredible, the grittiness and yet colorfulness of Miami,” shares co-showrunner and executive producer Ingrid Escajeda.

“People were attracted to how she carried herself. That’s a huge connecting point between her and Sofia. We want the essence of Griselda,” explains co-showrunner and executive producer Doug Miro.

Watch the video above for more from Vergara and the team behind Griselda, including why thee character is not a hero.

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In Griselda, Vergara’s character spent ten years as the brains behind her husband Alberto’s drug trafficking operation in Medellín and New York. When she escapes to Florida with her three sons, she uses that know-how to build a new life for her family with a ferocity that doesn’t always serve her well. Set in 1970s-80s Miami, her lethal blend of unsuspected savagery and charm helps her expertly navigate between business and family, leading her to become widely known as “the Godmother.”

The limited series stars, in addition to Vergara, Alberto Guerra (Dario Sepúlveda), Christian Tappan (Arturo Mesa), Martín Rodríguez (Rivi Ayala), Juliana Aidén Martinez (June Hawkins), and Vanessa Ferlito (Carmen Gutiérrez).

Guest stars include: Carolina Giraldo a.k.a Karol G (Carla), Fredy Yate (Chucho Castro), Paulina Dávila (Isabel), José Zúñiga (Amilcar), Camilo Jiménez Varón (Rafa Salazar), Julieth Restrepo (Marta Ochoa), Gabriel Sloyer (Raul Diaz), Diego Trujillo (German Panesso), and Alberto Ammann (Alberto Bravo).

Griselda is co-created by Newman, Miro, Escajeda, and Carlo Bernard. Joining them, Baiz (who directed all six episodes), and Vergara as an executive producer is Luis Balaguer. Philipp A. Barnett, Alfredo Septién, Turi Meyer, Gina Lucita Monreal, Brenna Kouf, and Cassie Pappas are co-executive producers.

Griselda, Series Premiere, Thursday, January 25, Netflix