Sofía Vergara Recalls Hiring a Dialect Coach to Get Rid of Her ‘Beautiful Accent’: ‘It Was a F—ing Waste’

Regarding the jobs she’s been offered, Vergara remarked, “It’s hard because this accent is beautiful, but it’s like, I cannot be a scientist, I cannot be an astronaut.”

Though actress Sofía Vergara has also been known for her beauty and melodious accent, she was initially resolved to get rid of the latter over fears her speech would limit the opportunities that would come her way.

The 51-year-old Griselda actor said, “I cannot take this accent away no matter what,” while talking about the parts she has been offered since her days on Modern Family. She also stated that she didn’t want to play her character “Gloria [Pritchett] again” in another comedy series.

“I tried when I first started my career,” she recounted during the drama actress round table hosted by The Hollywood Reporter. “I couldn’t believe Salma Hayek or Penélope Cruz didn’t change their accents—they would have had so many more opportunities—when I first went to Los Angeles. I’m going to carry it out.

Then, Vergara continued, “I wasted so much money and time with people teaching me, and it was a f—ing waste.”

The actress talked candidly about the challenges she had landing a serious part after playing Gloria, a Colombian bombshell and single mother, on the ABC sitcom for 11 years.

She said, “It was almost like playing myself.” “In my entire life, I never attended an acting class. It’s difficult for me to change my direction since, although my accent is lovely, I feel like I can’t be an astronaut or a scientist.

She did more than just hire a dialect coach as a preventative step to advance her career. Vergara said that she has never lied to “get a job,” but she did admit that she has “lied to my agents so they would take me when I moved to L.A.”

“I said I could sing and dance. Why not? She giggled, “I didn’t think they were going to send me out.” “After that, they sent me to a Broadway audition in Chicago.”

She was cast in the role of “I played Mama Morton in Chicago,” in spite of her first worries.

Vergara stunned viewers with her portrayal of Miami drug queenpin Griselda Blanco in Netflix’s Griselda, despite the fact that she may be best known for her comedic roles.

During an appearance on former costar Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s on Me podcast, the actress remarked on having “a lot of similarities” to the drug lord and how her own family’s experiences with sorrow informed how she handled the character.

Sadly, Vergara’s elder brother, who had been in the drug trade for a while, “was killed in Colombia in the ’90s.”

Thus, I believed I comprehended a good deal of those topics. I understood that business, I understood that woman, and so I felt it was a really interesting character,” she said, noting that she didn’t approach the role looking for “a character to prove that I can be a tragic actress.”

She continued, “I felt that it had to be someone that I kind of, like, knew who she was.”