If you’ve been roped in by Jane the Virgin—the CW show that won leading lady Gina Rodriguez a Golden Globe halfway through its first season—you will know Mexican actor Jaime Camil as Rogelio, the impeccably groomed, egocentric but warm-hearted telenovela star who turns out to be Jane’s long-estranged father. While his may be a new name in the U.S., Camil has been a household name in Mexico for decades. Having spent time as a TV host, singer and actor in film, television and stage, it’s easier to ask Camil what he hasn’t done for an audience than what he has.
Jaime Camil on “Jane the Virgin”
Jane the Virgin has won critical accolades for its stylistic originality as well as its uncompromising boldness, and one noteworthy feature of the show is the significant role that Catholicism plays in the characters’ psyches. In the realm of primetime television these days, religion tends to be portrayed at one-dimensional extremes—often defining a character by their religious beliefs, and casting them in a sinister or wacky, brainwashed light. Jane the Virgin however, manages to depict Catholicism as just another part of the lives of the Miami family we see working their way through the normal—and not so normal—things that happen to them.
Camil thinks this speaks to the genius of the show. “We don’t make a big deal out of that, because many people don’t. They have religion as a part of their life, and comedy is a very powerful tool that allows for talking about subjects in a non-intense way. I think it was a brilliant decision not to portray the Latino family as a caricature. Just the fact that we are Latinos who are Catholic doesn’t mean we happen to think: tacos, whoohoo! You don’t have to portray a Latino shouting ‘Hey, I don’t want go out with a fat lady!’ Comedy goes beyond that; it can be situational. Ours is just a very well written story, and this is part of the story.”
Jaime Camil on “Jane the Virgin”
This particular chapter of the show’s story will end this Monday, with the first season’s finale. But don’t worry—it’s been renewed for a second season, and Camil is 200 percent on board. When asked if he has any plans for after the show, he demurs with polite vehemence.
“The show is like my family, and I love it to the core. It would be very disrespectful for me to be in a show and thinking about the future. If we get amazing opportunities while we’re on our hiatus, that’s amazing, of course. I hope this will open many doors for me in the American market. But right now my priority is Jane the Virgin, and always will be until I am no longer needed.”
