Whether you’ve binged all six episodes of “Griselda” or have just taken a peek at the trailer, you’ve likely noticed that Sofia Vergara transformed into an entirely new person while filming the project. This was by design, according to “Griselda” producer Eric Newman, who detailed the involved process to The Hollywood Reporter. “We started our makeup process well before we started shooting…” shared Newman, who admitted that he initially worried about placing Vergara under prosthetics because he feared it’d impact her performance. However, he wasn’t as concerned with Vergara looking exactly like Griselda Blanco as he was with her not looking like herself. “What we needed was for people to forget they were watching Sofía Vergara,” added Newman.
According to Variety, Vergara — who posted a behind-the-scenes clip of her transformation — had to go through three hours of makeup application every day. Vergara’s makeup artist, Todd McIntosh, worked hard to bury Sofia underneath Blanco’s likeness. Griselda was not a pretty lady,” shared McIntosh with the publication. “So, the idea was to take away the things that make [Vergara] pretty and to make her look average. On top of that, tell the story through traditional makeup.” Echoing Newman’s comments, McIntosh revealed that the goal was to help viewers suspend disbelief. “What we wanted to achieve was not to hide Sofía completely, but to transform her into someone else,” said McIntosh.
