‘Jane the Virgin’ star on the challenge of playing a pregnant virgin

Naveen Ganglani

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‘Jane the Virgin’ star on the challenge of playing a pregnant virgin
'As an actress, there's no judgment on my character....So I do not laugh at her,' star Gina Rodriguez tells Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – Hit TV series Jane the Virgin continues to gain steam as one of the more acclaimed shows to hit the television screen this fall season. 

The comedy-drama focuses on how Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez), a religious 23-year-old Latina, deals with getting accidentally artificially inseminated after taking a vow to save her virginity until after she gets married.

TVLine.com said the show was “extremely well-executed,” with a “clear and clever voice,” and Entertainment Weekly praised the show, saying “Jane stands out on primetime television as a twentysomething anyone can relate to: a young woman determined to create her own destiny while holding on to what she values most.”

Other characters include Jane‘s grandmother Alba (Ivonne Coll), her mother Xiomara (Andrea Navedo), the biological father of her baby Rafael (Justin Baldoni), and many others.

A full season was ordered for the series in October, and it continues to get rave reviews per episode. This past week, Rodriguez was in town and sat down with Rappler to discuss how she prepared to play her role, whom she consulted about portraying a pregnant character on screen, and the future of Jane the Virgin.

FUN AND VIVACIOUS. Jane is depicted as fun and full of life – not at all prudish. Photo courtesy of Sony Channel

What drew you to the role of Jane the Virgin?

Gina: Well, everything. Jane is awesome. She’s fierce, she’s strong, she’s independent, she’s not afraid. She is going through a crazy situation, but the way she handles it, with grace… I just don’t think I would be as strong as she is. The way she takes the situation and just accepts life… she accepted what life gave her. I just feel like I would go running for the hills or be terrified.

The storyline is so fresh, it’s so new, it’s so different. This tone of the show is so fun and bubbly and light. I go from comedy to drama in one scene and it really pumps my muscles… Who wouldn’t take it? 

  “As an actress, there’s no judgment on my character. There’s no judgment on her situation. So I do not laugh at her. I do that for any role I play.”  

  – Gina Rodriguez on playing Jane the Virgin

How did you prepare yourself for the role?

Gina: I’ve been acting for a little while, and I feel that everything I’ve done has led up to being able to play Jane. For Jane specifically, I made sure that I created a few different gestures for her. 

So what are the differences between Gina and Jane?

Gina: I bite my nails; Jane doesn’t bite her nails. That’s not what she does when she’s nervous. When she’s nervous, she does big breaths. She walks differently than I walk. She runs differently than I run.

How about the physical challenge of playing a role of someone who’s pregnant?

Gina: I’m on episode 14. It’s like I have a belly bump. And it keeps getting bigger and bigger, and that’s messing [with me]. Physically it’s different. There’s like weight in your stomach. And the way you sit, you have to sit differently. It’s tripping me out a little like, ‘do I want a baby? (laughs). Oh my god, I think I like this, oh my goodness!’ But I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

Gina doesn’t have children, but says she wanted to know what it’s like to carry a baby before shooting scenes for the show. She consulted a couple of women who have been pregnant before, notably her siblings.

What other preparations did you have to do to get ready for your role? 

Gina: I have two older sisters – both of them have babies. I saw my eldest sister through both of her pregnancies. I was with her through the whole experience. So that was like really nice hands-on information. One of my best friends is pregnant right now. It’s extremely helpful. I’m like, ‘What are you going through right now?’ And she would send pictures of herself. 

Note: Rodriguez’s best friend also sends notes about the other aspects of pregnancy that sometimes go under the radar. She talked about the fear of having a miscarriage, and how the body changes on almost a daily basis.

Playing a pregnant woman can sometimes mean filming sensitive topics on screen as well. Rodriguez has been acting for nearly 10 years now, and she’s gotten by shooting those type of situations with a certain mindset.

STRANGE SITUATION. By a strange twist of fate, Jane, a virgin, finds herself accidentally artificially inseminated. Photo courtesy of Sony Channel

As an actress, how do you approach scenes and subject matter that are more sensitive than most?

Gina: As an actress, there’s no judgment on my character. There’s no judgment on her situation. So I do not laugh at her. I do that for any role I play. This way, I can approach them as I would my own life. The more mature situations that she (Jane) goes through that can be controversial, I try to play with it with as much honesty as possible, and with as much openness. 

Jane doesn’t believe that her way is the right way; it’s just the right way for her. Especially for a character playing a virgin, in the beginning people were like, so what, ‘you have to be a virgin to be a good person?’ And that’s not the truth. And that’s not the truth for Jane. She’s not like, ‘Oh, what are you doing? You’re a hussy.’ 

She does it by choice because of her faith. She doesn’t say, ‘oh you should do this too.’ She says, ‘this is what I have to do.’ I really like that about the character. I like the way the writers wrote commentary on life, but they didn’t say this is the right way or the wrong way, they just said this is a way. I really dig that. 

How long did it take for the rest of the cast to bond?

Gina: When I first met the cast, I think the one thing that we shared in common that binds all of us is our appreciation for being where we’re at. There’s nothing but gratitude. There’s no egos on set, there’s no divas. 

We all are in different phases in our lives, but we all get along… because we all are so grateful. We know how hard it’s been to get here. We know how scary it is in this industry. And we know how blessed we are to be doing such an awesome project. You can’t take anything for granted. You don’t know when it’s up. You don’t know when you have to say good-bye. Because of that, we all appreciate each other and we all respect each other.

What’s the outlook for the future of Jane the Virgin?

Gina: The way to prepare for the future is to enjoy the present. And we enjoy the crap out of the present! If I had it my way… the show would live four, five seasons, I would do movies, blockbusters, studio films, labors of love, make my own films in between each hiatus.

How about directing?

Gina: Of course direct! If we get a season two, I’m directing an episode! – Rappler.com

Jane the Virgin airs Sundays, 9pm, on the Sony Channel

Naveen Ganglani is a correspondent and writer for Rappler.com who spends a lot of his time watching movies, flicking through TV shows, and reading novels when he isn’t penning articles and covering events. On most days, he likes to watch re-runs of Friends as he hopes to master Joey Tribbiani’s “How you doin’?” pick-up line. Follow him on Twitter: @naveenganglani

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