Sofia Vergara says her accent affects the roles she can play on-screen.

Sofia Vergara says her accent will never allow her to play a scientist or astronaut

Sofia Vergara, 51, says her accent limits her roles in Hollywood.
“I don’t want to be Gloria again, but I cannot take this accent away no matter what,” Vergara said.
Accent bias isn’t limited to Hollywood.
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Sofia Vergara, 51, says that her accent hinders her ability to play certain roles onscreen.

During an interview — alongside actors Anna Sawai, Naomi Watts, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, Jodie Foster, and Brie Larson — for The Hollywood Reporter’s Drama Actress Roundtable, Vergara spoke about the challenges she faced in her career because of the way she spoke.

“I did 11 years on ‘Modern Family,’ but it was almost playing myself in a way,” Vergara said. “And when I decide to do something different, it’s hard because this accent is beautiful, but it’s like, I cannot be a scientist, I cannot be an astronaut.”

Foster then interjected, assuring Vergara that she could.

“If I produce the movie, maybe, but it’s going to be not great,” Vergara responded, adding that she “never went” to an acting class.

“I don’t want to be Gloria again, but I cannot take this accent away no matter what. I tried at the beginning of my career,” she said. Gloria is the name of Vergara’s character in “Modern Family.”

“When I moved to LA, I’m like, ‘I cannot believe Penélope Cruz or Salma Hayek don’t change their accent, they’d have so many more opportunities. I’m going to do it.’ Then I spent so much money and time with people teaching me, and it was a fucking waste,” she said.

Vergara then shared that she decided to do “Griselda” — the Netflix series about real-life drug Colombian lord Griselda Blanco — because she was familiar with the setting of the show.