*Actress Gina Torres admits to feeling “trapped in a box” as a Latina woman playing only African American roles in Hollywood.
“I feel like I was living in three worlds,” Torres said in a new interview with MSNBC. “There was my world, that I grew up in, also Spanish-speaking. Home, Cuban parents, and then you go out into the world, and I’m speaking English and I’m in the Bronx. And then, going into this industry as an actress, then nobody recognizes you as either one.”
The “Firefly” star explained, “There was no place for me as a Latina, and then as a Black woman—I didn’t identify as a Black woman, because for me it was cultural. Because, of course, I present Black, I am a Black woman. I am also Cuban. When you’re here in the United States and they ask you to be in a box, and you don’t fit into the box…culturally, it was different. It was not one that I identified with. But to work, to survive, it was something that I had to learn.”
Torres continued, “To then learn to be whatever ‘Black’ was, and then feel like I was alienating that other part of myself, that Latina self, it just kind of became a Jedi mind trick, to keep myself from just being sad all the time about not being able to fully experience and express the entirety of myself.”
READ MORE: Gina Torres Makes History as First Afro-Latina to Create, Produce and Star in Own Show
In 2019, the “Suits” actress made history as the first Afro-Latina creator, producer, and star of a network series with her show “Pearson.”
Torres starred in the “Suits” spin-off series in which she reprised her role as Jessica Pearson. “Pearson” premiered on the USA Network in July 2019 and was canceled after one season.
When the series was initially announced, Torres was more than thrilled to revive the character that earned her “three Imagen Foundation Awards for Best Supporting Actress, as well as an American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) award nomination for Favorite TV Actress-Supporting Role,” per NBC News.
“I became fascinated with what was unfolding in front of me. There were so many interesting questions about loyalty and the power grab of it all,” she previously said. In the same interview, she also remarked on taking her talents behind-the-scenes as an EP on the series.
“Being an executive was shockingly easy. God knows I have an opinion and I’m not afraid to share it. And the cast and crew was collaborative and understanding, recognizing that my voice is essential,” Torres said.
“I never pretended to be anything other than who I am … if people want to project their ideas of what I should be unto me, that’s not my problem,” she added. “If I have served as an instrument for education that Latinas can look any myriad of ways, I’m happy. There’s Cameron Diaz, there’s me and everything in between.”
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