Sofía Vergara Said She Didn’t Want to Miss Hollywood Reporter Cover With Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman Despite Knee Surgery

The ‘Griselda’ star also poked fun at her “business casual” clothing choice compared to the ensembles worn by the other dramatic actresses on the roundtable.

Sofía Vergara has shared some behind-the-scenes stories about The Hollywood Reporter‘s latest cover story, highlighting this year’s drama actress roundtable.

The Griselda star, who recently had extensive knee surgery, said on Thursday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! that the cover shoot with Nicole Kidman, Jodie Foster, Jennifer Aniston, Anna Sawai, Brie Larson and Naomi Watts was less than two weeks after her operation.

So her team wanted her to cancel, with them telling her, “We don’t think you’re in good shape, you’re not looking good.’” At the time, she was relying on a walker to move around, as she couldn’t walk.

“I was like, ‘I’m not missing that cover with Jennifer Aniston, with Nicole Kidman, with all [of them],” she recalled.

As Kimmel displayed the cover, Vergara explained some of what was behind her appearance alongside her fellow Emmy hopefuls.

“Even if I can’t grin … like you cannot see it here, but there was this face of discomfort,” Vergara said, pointing at her facial expression on the cover. “And the leg, they put it in a cushion very high and obviously they cut my leg [from the cover photo].”

Vergara, who wore her own clothes for the feature, also said that she was told to arrive dressed in “business casual” attire, but she decided to follow the dress code loosely. “Look at what I’m wearing,” she joked as she pointed to her sultry ensemble.

“To me, that’s business. Look at all of them! They look like they’re going to pray,” she quipped. “I’m like, what business are they in? None of them work in the church or in the bank. To me, business casual is this.”

Earlier, Vergara said her surgery lasted eight hours, but she is feeling “OK” and back to work.

However, her recovery was still apparent in her uncharacteristic shoe choice: a pair of white sneakers.

“Sorry I’ve come to your show in tennis shoes,” the Modern Family alum told Kimmel, while trying to get comfortable in her chair. “I don’t even want to look down,” she joked about her footwear. “Tennis shoes are only for sports activities and touristy activities.”

On the roundtable, Vergara talked about shifting from comedy to drama, with Griselda, after her 11-year run on Modern Family.