Sofia Vergara talks about working with Woody Allen and Sharon Stone in Fading Gigolo, her son helping through the movie’s audition and her limitations as an actress
How was it for you to be acting next to Woody Allen in the movieIJ
At first it was intimidating. When you think about that too much the fear gets the best of you while you’re trying to be good and funny. But the pleasure comes through soon after that. Plus, in the first scene I had so many things to do and I was afraid to hurt the kids while working with their hair. So I was focussing on all these things while staying in character and also trying hard not to laugh at Woody because my character was not in a position for that in the beginning. But he is such a charming person. I think he’s in a different position when acting than he is directing, so whatever you felt in that room auditioning, I never felt that while we were acting together. We spoke about music together and everything. It was lovely.
Does Woody know that he has that effect on everyone around himIJ
He never takes advantage of that. He was always very nice and was talking with everyone on set. He was always available on set. He’s intimidated by other people as well.
How was it working with Sharon Stone.
It was amazing, I was a little nervous to work with such an icon. I had never met her. But from the moment she walked on the stage and the set — she’s a real movie star. The way she is, the way she talks — everything.
You and Sharon have a very infamous threesome scene in the movie. How did that goIJ
We were doing the threesome and it was very interesting for me to do that because it was Sharon Stone. If you’re going to do a threesome, who better than herIJ I was a little nervous at the beginning, then I went to the set and she was so cool, she was like, ‘Just follow my lead.’
You have a young son. How does he deal with his mother’s fameIJ
He’s used to it because I’ve been working since he was a little baby. He doesn’t know anything else. He knows that I have to work. He just laughs with me when he reads the gossip because he’s the one who knows where I sleep every night and what I really do. So he laughs with me.
We hear your son helped you with audition of Fading Gigolo. Is that trueIJ
Yeah. I was like, ‘Manolo, I will give you five bucks if you read with me’. He would be so annoyed. He speaks English perfect, Spanish perfect, no accent. He would correct me with a word and then I would do it wrong so he would say, ‘Don’t even go (to the audition). They won’t understand anything.’ Fading Gigolo had a very European feel. In New York the crews are very eclectic and small. It was very similar to being home in France. It’s great because you get to focus and have a relationship with everyone on the set and that really makes the movie better. The difference was just acting in English. I tend to choose the movie based on if I want to go and see them. Because I sing so much, I do very few films and tend to be quite picky about it. I choose them if I read the story and just can’t wait to make it.
You always play a funny, sexy role as you did in this film. Do you ever feel type castIJ
Oh, I don’t know. I think you have to know your limitations, so I’m not going to tell my agent to cast me in Schindler’s list II. I know where I can have fun and do a good job. You have to be grateful. I don’t think I should complain, ‘Oh, they don’t let me cry or be raped in a movie.’
You’re one of the biggest beauty icons in the world now, how much pressure is that for youIJ
It’s great that at this age I’m still considered a beauty icon, because you know, after you start feeling time go by, things change. So of course I love it, I think it’s great that I’m showing a little bit more of the latin looks all over the world and a little bit of my ethnicity.
Comedy seems to come naturally to you as an actressIJ
I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. I knew I could be funny because I was always making my friends laugh. But I didn’t think that I was going to be funny working in a super successful sitcom. That is something you can only dream about. I think being funny comes from not wanting to have attention for my looks. In high school, I was the class clown because I wanted people to like me and appreciate me for who I was and not because of my appearance. Ever since I’ve used humour to change the focus from my looks.