'Jane The Virgin' Star Gina Rodriguez On Love Triangles & Tackling Immigration
'Jane The Virgin' star Gina Rodriguez, who won a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy, spoke with The Holleywood Reporter on all things "Jane."
In the interview, Rodriguez spoke about getting back to work post-Golden Globes, her character's love triangle between Rafael and Michael, Jane's grandmother's immigration status and more.
On Jane's Love Interests Rafael And Michael
"It definitely will weigh on the audience [in] who's better for Jane and who has Jane's best interest. She's not very aware of what Michael's doing, which to me strengthens Michael's love for her — or at least validates how much he loves her [because] he's not doing it for her love in return. You're going to see that representation, between Michael and Rafael [Justin Baldoni], [of] dreams and reality. I really like that dichotomy of where her safety zone is, because you'll be able to understand why she makes certain decisions when it comes to men — because of her fear. Jane has legitimate, real fears and doesn't want to mess up. She's got this thing about her where she's so afraid of messing up, of missing out, of losing, of hurting someone that she holds tight. She's going to go through a point where she's introducing Rafael to her life — to her family — and has to make risky choices. That's very new for Jane."
On Jane's Budding Romantic Relationship With Rafael
"Rafael shows Jane his love, loyalty and dedication to her by allowing her to be involved in his life. That's how he shows love, and it is interesting, because how Michael shows love is he protects Jane. [Whereas] with Rafael, he says, "What's mine is yours; I'm not hiding anything from you." But when you open yourself so much in that way, there's always a question of "Why are you letting me know so much? We just started." She definitely starts to doubt things [in the next few episodes]. … Jane is not an idiot; she's not naive; she's just hopeful. She sees the positive. She's not looking the other way; she's just making sure she's looking the right away. And Jane is very loyal; Jane is not the "let me keep this guy on the side just in case" type. [So Jane and Rafael] are trying it, but you may see her say, "I've got to take a pause. Let me figure this out.""
On Jane's Grandmother's Recent "Accident"
"It's not just about her [grandmother] having to recuperate in the hospital but also her status in this country. I love the fact that we bring up immigration because it is an ever-present problem in our country. Why anyone isn't allowed to be anywhere in our country, obviously it has to do with tax reasons [too], but that's crazy, or that's disappointing. Having an actress on our show, Diane Guerrero, who has spoken very openly about her situation with immigration and losing her family, I think it's important to have these social commentary episodes that you're not beating people over the head with it. Nobody likes to be beat over the head with anything. And I really like the fact that they integrated something so valuable and so important in our daily lives."
On Returning To The Set After The Golden Globes
"The same way Jane is transforming in her life about finding out what's real and what's important and what makes her grounded — what's a priority [and] what's necessary in her life and who she wants to be — so am I. There was a transformation that happened where Jane was like, 'I do want this child; why am I talking like I don't? I don't want to be the woman that goes into this pregnancy with resentment or any kind of ill will toward my child.' It's the same way I am understanding the woman I want to be in all of this. … I want to soak up every moment; I want to soak up every day; I don't want to worry about tomorrow. And I want to make sure that I focus on the work because that's what got me here. You know, they make jokes when I come on set, like, 'Oh, Miss Golden Globe winner!' But I still have to prove I'm worth that. If anything more so now, I have to show them they made the right decision."
Read the rest of Gina Rodriguez's interview with The Holleywood Reporter here.