'Jane the Virgin's' Jaime Camil Drops Big Hints About Rogelio's Next Act

It should be noted: Gina Rodriguez has been anointed Jane the Virgin's breakout star — and deservedly so! — but each week, the biggest laughs come from Jane's ridiculously self-involved soap star dad Rogelio De La Vega, played by Jaime Camil. With his seductively arched eyebrows and constant barrage of humblebrags, he might be the funniest man on TV right now. (Seriously, if this guy doesn't win an award soon, what are awards even for?)

And though American audiences are just getting to know Camil, he's already a huge star in Mexico: He's acted in dozens of films and TV series, he's recorded two Spanish-language albums… he was even named People en Espa?ol's Sexiest Man Alive in 2007! So we were honored to get Camil on the phone to chat about Rogelio's sudden unemployment, how close The Passions of Santos is to real Mexican telenovelas, and his reaction to his co-star Gina Rodriguez's big Golden Globes win.

(Fair warning: Camil does drop a few mild spoilers here about what's coming up for Rogelio, so stop reading here if you need to remain completely spoiler-free.)

We learned last week that Rogelio doesn't cope very well with being fired. How is his ego feeling right about now?
Rogelio doesn't cope very well with anything. [Laughs.] Yes, he has a lot of time on his hands, and that's not a good thing for Rogelio. But it's a good thing for the viewers, because that will develop into some very comedic situations. 

Eventually, Rogelio will have to decide to take a job that will feed his already overfed ego, being an even bigger star... but that would mean going to Mexico for a year and a half. Or he will have to accept a less fortunate job playing the second lead to his nemesis, his fiercest rival. He's the guy, if you saw the episode at the Paloma Awards, who won and Rogelio stands up and they're like, "No, the other guy, Rogelio." That was awkward.

So this job offer will be to play the second lead to this guy who won the actual Paloma Award. But that would mean staying in Miami and staying closer to his family. So, of course, you can imagine which route he will take, obviously, no?

Get a sneak peek at an all-new Jane the Virgin right here:

You have a lot of experience acting in Mexican telenovelas yourself. You even played twins once!
Yes, well, kind of. Because of the format and because they're daily, Monday through Friday, they're labeled as novelas. But to be honest, the shows that I've done, technically speaking, they're situational comedies. I was on La Fea Más Bella, the Mexican version of Ugly Betty. I played on [Por Ella Soy Eva], which was like a Mrs. Doubtfire kind of project — if you imagine me dressed as a woman, which is a sight to see. [Laughs.] 

And then the one you're referring to is Los Exitosos Pérez, and it's about twin brothers: One is gay, the other one is not. And actually, it's a brilliant plot, so [Jane the Virgin executive producer] Ben Silverman should be getting the rights for that show and bringing it to the U.S.! 

Related: The 'Jane the Virgin' Cast Reacts to Gina Rodriguez's Golden Globes Win

So with all that knowledge of the Mexican television industry, how close is The Passions of Santos to the real thing?
It's very close, actually. It might be even far away from the melodramatic kind of acting that the novelas require. It is kind of funny, in a very sad way. [Laughs.] But it's just something that the Latin American people, they adore. In Brazil, they call the Mexican novelas "the great Mexican tragedies." Because there is not one episode of happiness! Everyone is suffering, crying, screaming. I believe only the first episode and the last have some happiness in them. The other ones are just tragedy after tragedy. So I think it's pretty accurate.

And actually, [Jane the Virgin showrunner] Jennie [Urman] has a writer on her team — her name is Carolina. And Carolina writes novelas in Mexico. So having Carolina on the team makes all the sense in the world, because now you have this element of credibility... if novelas have any element of credibility. [Laughs.] 

Are there any real-life actors you've worked with that give you inspiration for Rogelio? You don't have to name names.

[Laughs.] Thank you, because I do want to go back to Mexico. No, I have a lot of friends and colleagues, and they do this kind of acting, you know — melodramatic to the top. And they're really close friends of mine, and they're really beautiful people, and we ride motorcycles together. But they do have that kind of melodramatic, Latin America, telenovela style, which is completely over the top. And of course, I lived in Mexico, so I know the culture. I've been submerged in the telenovela world. It's not new to me. So whenever I need to do a scene as Santos, I know exactly what to do. 

Is there a physical transformation you go through to play Rogelio? He's a very animated guy.
Yeah, well, thank God I have brilliant directors that help me not go over the top. Because, with Rogelio, believe me, it's very easy to lose it. [Laughs.] You can just go full-out class clown-y, you know? But that's a type of physical comedy that I adore doing, which is clowning. I mean, I would never dare to compare myself to a Martin Short or a Steve Martin or someone like that, but I just love their type of comedy.

Now at the same time, what I like about Rogelio is, he can be perceived as the comic relief and make you laugh and get into these ridiculous situations... but he has a lot of heart. He has really heartfelt scenes with Gina and with Xiomara, and... I don't know if you saw Episode 12, when Santos dies? It was a very dramatic scene that brought Jane and Rogelio closer to each other. So that's what I appreciate about Jennie: She's a brilliant writer, and she's kind enough in writing situations for Rogelio that would not make him a superficial character, that give him a lot of depth.

Photos: A Peek Behind the Scenes at the 'Jane the Virgin' Set

You're also an accomplished singer in your own right. Will we ever see Rogelio and Xo sing a duet?
I don't know about the singer. I have declared myself, and I have accepted myself, as an actor that can sing. But actually, this episode we're shooting right now, which I believe is Episode 19 — this is a huge spoiler — Rogelio gets offered a Las Vegas residency... though his residency is only for one night. [Laughs.] And then when they do the baby shower for Jane, Rogelio gives her the greatest gift of all: "the gift of music... my music." And then he starts singing this ridiculous song about when you were a baby, I couldn't hold my baby, and now you're having a baby... I'm recording that song on Tuesday.

You mentioned Jane's baby, who's coming soon. So is Rogelio ready to be a grandfather?
Can you imagine? I don't know; I want to see two elements for Rogelio to play more with. One is to fight more with Rafael. Because I am a father. And even though my daughter is three and a half years old, I can tell you now for a fact that I will never be happy with whoever she's dating. Ever. [Laughs.] So I think Rogelio could play with this more, with Rafael. 

And then, of course, imagine Rogelio: He's always saying, "I'm 40 years old... no, 35. No, 36!" He's always lying about his age, and how he wants to be young. I think Jennie took a lot of advantage about the fact that he will be a grandfather. So I think that will be very shocking for Rogelio.

Tell me about the Golden Globes. That had to be an amazing night for you as a cast.
It was a truly amazing night. We are so happy for Gina, because she totally deserves the award. Not only because she's a brilliant actress, but because she's a beautiful human being. You will see whenever you get to interview her, why she deserves the attention she's getting, and the recognition, and, of course, the award. She's amazing.

First of all, it's just surreal. To be walking the red carpet, and being in the same room as these individuals. Because in some way, you kind of belong to this group. That's why they nominated you. So now you know you are a part of this world, which is just beyond amazing. And then when they announce the award for Gina... I knew she was going to win it a month ago. A month before the Globes. I was completely sure about it. 

And when they announce, "And the winner is... Gina Rodriguez," we released so much adrenaline at that moment. And then the award right after Gina's was the award for the show — and we didn't realize it! We were still celebrating about Gina. And we're like, "Gina, oh my God!" "The winner is... Transparent." "Yay Gina, beautiful Gina... wait, what? Oh, c'mon!"

I don't want to play it cool with you, like, "Oh, it's OK." No, the hell with that. I really wanted the show to win, to be honest. But then a friend told me, "Look, put yourself in perspective, OK? Kevin Spacey has been nominated eight times! He just won!" So I was like, "You're right. We should be thankful." But it was a surreal experience.

Finally, will we ever get to see Rogelio's house on the show? I'm picturing this grand estate with enormous oil paintings of himself everywhere.
[Laughs.] Actually, I have told Jennie, "You have to shoot in Mexico." Because I have a lot of friends and family members who have these beautiful, beautiful houses, like the ones you would find in Bel Air or Beverly Hills. We should go and shoot in Mexico. Like, maybe a one or two-day shoot. Because actually, Rita Moreno was just a guest on our show, playing my mother, if you can imagine that. It was a thrill for me, because I played Bernardo in the Mexican production of West Side Story. So the fact that I got to meet Rita... I was like, "Can I touch you? Are you real? Are you from this world?"

And there's a line where Rita tells Jane, "Oh, your grandfather wanted to be here, but his heart condition, blah blah blah..." And then Jane goes, "Well, after the baby is born, maybe I can visit." And that's where my head starts spinning. I'm like, This is the perfect excuse for us to go and shoot maybe two days in Mexico and meet my father. I don't know who's going to be playing my dad, but of course it's going to be a very eccentric, pretentious guy. [Laughs.] So yeah, I would love to go to Rogelio's ranch, for example. They'd have rhinos and elephants and giraffes and stuff like that. It's going to be very comedic, I can tell you that.

Jane the Virgin airs Mondays at 9 p.m. on The CW.