Gina Rodriguez on representation behind the camera in the making of "Miss Bala"

Gina Rodriguez is as excited about what happens on screen in her latest film "Miss Bala" as she is about what happened behind the lens while making it.

In the film, she portrays Gloria, a young woman who tries to take down a Mexican drug cartel after her best friend is kidnapped. "Miss Bala" is the English language remake of a Gerardo Naranjo's 2012 Mexican drama of the same name.

"I was so lucky and so blessed asked to play Gloria but also I think more importantly, Sony, a major studio, is re-imagining a film and they were doing it with our community and they were doing it from our community. So it was 95 percent Latinx in front of and behind the camera and that was just an experience that I've still yet to this day to experience again. It was pretty fantastic," Rodriguez told "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday.   

The Golden Globe-winning actress is best known for the TV series "Jane the Virgin" about a young religious woman who becomes pregnant after she is artificially inseminated by accident. Rodriguez is outspoken about Latin American representation in television and film and cognizant of the fact that she can't be the only voice representing that community, varied as it is.

"There's no way I can represent the Latinx community alone. We come in varied shades and skin color and eye color and hair, and political background and religious background and the complexities of the Latinx community is so great. So to be an advocate is important for me, because if I can create more opportunities and you can see more and the varied beautiful cultures does encompass the Latinx community," she said.

For Rodriguez, it wasn't until she was part of "Miss Bala" that she understood how much power there is behind the camera when it comes to creating opportunities for representation.  

"I think for so long I thought as an actor, as someone in front of the camera, that I would help young girls feel related to. I would help them feel capable, worthy, accepted, part of the conversation," she said. "Being a part of this project, it showed me that the power lied behind the camera. And that was something that I don't think I was aware of, as an artist, as a struggling actor wanting so bad to fulfill my dreams. A big part of the dream to make sure there were others as well."

To hear how Rodriguez prepared for her first action thriller, watch the video in the player above