As Petra Solano on “Jane The Virgin,” Israeli actress Yael Grobglas is the perfect foil to Gina Rodriguez’s titular virgin. Manipulative, conniving, and incessantly watchable, she’s a multifaceted villain well worth warming to.
On playing a villain.
“I’ve never had to prove that I’m not a mean person before! I feel like people seeing me on the street expect me to be torturing a little animal or something. [But] I love it. Of all the characters I’ve played, Petra is the most different from me, so it takes the most work beforehand to understand her motivations and understand where she’s coming from—to not judge her.”
On auditioning.
“It was one of those auditions where they let you play, where they enjoy that you bring ideas of your own. I was told once by a wise friend that when you go to an audition, you’re auditioning the people that you might be working with just as much as they’re auditioning you, and I remember walking into this room and immediately thinking that I would be so happy to work with these people.”
On being in a diverse cast.
“For me, it became pretty obvious the first time the entire cast got together. We instantly loved each other and we have ever since. Just seeing this group of people of all different nationalities, from all different places, all different ages—just an incredibly diverse group—becoming an actual family, it was clear that that was going to be something very special.”
On coming to an American market.
“I don’t see it as much as a transition [into Hollywood] as I do an expansion. I would very much love to continue working in Israel as well. My dream is to do as much as possible. Since I became an actor, it was always a dream of mine to work [in the U.S.], but I didn’t think, honestly, that it was a dream that was going to come true. And then from the first time I came here, everything happened so quickly and it was just an incredible rollercoaster ride to be on.”
On Season 2.
“At the end of Season 1, Petra basically stole Rafael’s sperm sample. I would love to see what Petra is like as a mother. It can go one of two ways: She can either be what I think most people might be expecting of Petra, which is to be not a great mom, but I actually think that suddenly her maternal instincts would kick in and she would be this wonderful lioness of a mother. I would love to have the chance to play that.”
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