Andrea Navedo – Jane The Virgin

By starrymag | March 27, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I have a few things in the works. One is a short film idea that I’m working with a writer on to create because I would like to pursue directing. So, I have that. Then, I have more of a personal project that I’m working on that is a documentary on my grandmother who just turned ninety-six last week. Last summer I was visiting my mom and grandma in Florida and my mother casually mentioned to me that my grandmother’s father had committed suicide and he had died in my grandmother’s arms when she was seventeen. It was the first time I’d ever heard that and it just made me look at my grandmother in a different light. I realized that I didn’t know who this woman was. To get to age ninety-six, I could imagine all the things she’d experienced in her life and it made me want to take advantage while we still have her about who she is and what her life experiences were like – being an immigrant from Puerto Rico and what her life was like. Last Thanksgiving, I spent a couple of days with her and I recorded our interviews and I recorded family members. So, right now I’m working with an editor to create a personal documentary for me and my family. The other thing I’m working on is a documentary about Latina women in the United States who are paving the way for all of us. I’m producing and hosting that documentary and it’s called Mujer.

Q) And then we have the final season of “Jane The Virgin.”

A) I’ve made my peace with it because I’ve known about it for a while. So, I’m good. But it is bittersweet. It’s been the last five years of my life!

Q) What can you tease is new this season?

A) Well, I haven’t been given the green light on this, but anyway… [laughs] I know you guys kind of, sort of know that Michael (Brett Dier) will be in the picture. I can’t go any further on that one. Xiomara will definitely get on the mend on cancer. I haven’t been given the green light on that either, but F it! I’m going to go forward. She’s going to be making a new career choice. So, that will be interesting for people to see what direction she is taking.

Q) Xo and Rogelio have such get chemistry. They’ve come so far and he’s matured so much. What do you think it is about them that makes them work so well as a couple?

A) It’s probably because Xo is very much like Rogelio (Jaime Camil), but because he’s sort of like a big child in a way and that’s how Xo was. So, she understands him and has given him the spotlight and gets the way he ticks and supports him in that way. Xo has changed and doesn’t need to be in the spotlight as much as she did years back.

Q) Talk about the evolution of Jane and Xo from daughter-mother to now wife-friend.

A) It’s interesting that when we first started the dynamics were different. It was more like Jane (Gina Rodriguez) was the mother in the relationship and Xo was sort of the impulsive child that acted on whatever came to her mind or her feelings. During the trial and tribulations Xo has grown up and matured in a lot of ways. Now, she’s more of a mother figure to Jane than she was when we started Season One. She’s grown and matured a lot. She’s just always had Jane as her priority. That’s always been a beautiful thing that’s maintained throughout all of the seasons.

Q) How will dynamics change between the Villanueva ladies now that Alba is married?

A) It creates a little bit of a bump that we have to work out, but it creates some comedy too having Jorge in the Villanueva house all of a sudden. There is a little bit of growing pains, but ultimately, we’re happy that Alba (Ivonne Coll) is happy. We have a coming together of the minds so it works out, but not without its growing pains.

Q) Jennie Urman Snyder said she always had the cancer storyline in mind for Xo and she talked it over with you before sharing the script. What did it mean to you have her approach you and discuss the storyline?

A) She gave me an opportunity as an actor to process it. I was ready to take it on, especially because she was making certain statements with femininity, medical interventions and what are the different options. You really want to have your actors on board for your storylines so they can do their own research and their own work to bring the character and the situation to life. So, I was glad she could let me know because it gave me the opportunity to process it instead of being thrown on me. I, personally as an actor, wanted to do it justice. I didn’t want to melodramatize it where it was like, “Oh my gosh! Whoa is me!” I did have a cousin who passed of cancer at age thirty-six and she left behind three girls and that was seriously no joke! I just know that there are so many people effected by cancer that I just wanted to do it justice. So, I was just very grateful that I was given notice ahead of time so I could process it, take it in and hopefully do it justice.

Q) What kind of feedback did you receive from fans from that storyline?

A) I got a lot of feedback from fans that said they had been touched by cancer personally or through family members or friends and they said that “Jane the Virgin” hit the cancer note really well. They felt included and they were grateful for the storyline.

Q) Were you looking forward to sharing scenes with anyone in particular that you hadn’t worked with much or at all in past seasons?

A) I got a little bit with Justin [Baldoni]. I would have loved to have had stuff with Petra [Yael Grobglas] or Michael, but no. Unfortunately, not. I don’t know what is going to happen. We still have three more episodes to shoot. So, maybe something will pop up.

Q) What was it like for you watching costar Gina Rodriguez step up as director again?

A) I was so amazed and so impressed by her. She’s truly a dynamic person and I really look up to her a lot. She’s highly intelligent and very insightful. She gets the technical side of being a director and also understands how to talk to actors and help them get to where they need to. I look up to her and may even be shadowing her on one of her next projects with Disney. I want to be like her when I grow up! [laughs]

Q) Have you taken any mementos home yet from set?

A) No, I haven’t. Thank you for mentioning it because I’m going to be on the lookout. Actually, I do want to take some of Xo’s clothes if I can. I was looking through wardrobe and was like, “Is it cool if I take some stuff,” because a lot of the clothes are tailored to my body. Not everything of hers is my taste, but there are some cute things that I really like. I would love to take something home from the set. I’ll probably take like a photo because we have “family photos,” so I could take some of them from set.

Q) What has it meant to you to have three strong Latina females as the lead of a show?

A) It was a groundbreaking show and it has really paved the way for a lot more diversity in Hollywood. I’m so glad that I didn’t quit acting. I wanted to quit acting about seven or eight years ago and I was almost on the verge. I reinvested in my passion and I’m so glad that I didn’t quit because I got to be a part of this amazing, groundbreaking show that makes me proud to be Latina.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable moments from filming the show over the seasons?

A) This is a little bit of a spoiler…I have awesome scenes with Brooke Shields. I won’t give all of it away, but there is a key scene that happens with her this season that is so funny. I grew up watching Brooke Shields on TV, the Calvin Klein ads and the Endless Love movie and I wanted to be Brooke Shields and I wanted to be an actress. I was growing up on welfare in the South Bronx with no prospects, so the possibility or reality of becoming an actress was unrealistic. But I dreamed as a little girl. And if someone had come to me as a little girl and said, “Andrea, when you are an adult you will be starring with Brooke Shields and on your own show,” I would never have believed it. And not just Brooke Shields! There have been Rita Moreno, Eva Longoria and Gloria Estefan. It’s been a pretty amazing ride to be on “Jane The Virgin.” Truly a dream come true!

Q) What have you personally taken away from your time working on “Jane The Virgin?”

A) Besides the pride of being Latina and being part of a groundbreaking show, I would also say pride in myself for sticking to pursuing my dream of becoming an actress or becoming a working actress. Just knowing that I accomplished an amazing thing in my life when I could have given up and almost did and that I get to be an example to other younger generations to hopefully be an inspiration where they can say, “If she can do it then I can do it, too.” If nothing else, I hope I am an inspiration of my children. My mom was an inspiration to me and she wasn’t on TV. So, I think I’ll be alright. [laughs]

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the series?

A) I’d like to say obviously a huge thank you to all of the fans who supported the show and for all of the love and positivity that they’ve expressed, all of their feelings and emotions and their gratitude for what we’ve done. I’m very grateful that they’ve watched the show and supported “Jane the Virgin.” If it wasn’t for them (obviously it’s a cliché) we wouldn’t have been on for five seasons.