Sofía Vergara's latest transformation is her most dramatic yet.
The Modern Family star sat in the makeup chair for hours every day on set to channel Colombian cocaine trafficker Griselda Blanco for the Netflix miniseries Griselda, debuting Jan. 25.
"I needed to disappear," Vergara shared in E! News' exclusive behind-the-scenes video. "It was in Miami in the '70s and the '80s. Getting the look correct was very important to me."
To become the late cartel leader, the 51-year-old used five wigs and various prosthetics, including prosthetic eyebrow covers with false hairs glued on top, which effectively erased the actress' signature bold brows. The crew also added a nose piece and fake teeth, which they yellowed because Blanco was a smoker.
It was all part of Vergara's process of getting into character.
"There are so many nuances to explore in terms of who she was—as a woman, as a mother, and, of course, as a drug lord who created one of the most profitable cartels in history," she explained. "She was not as famous as someone like Pablo Escobar, but even he was scared of her at the time. She stood on her own."
On top of her makeup and costumes, Vergara also adjusted her own posture to give a more authentic portrayal of the complicated woman, who was killed in 2012 at age 69.
"It is not about a glamorous life—it was often bloody and terrifying," she continued. "In the world she came from, she did what she knew how to do."
Ultimately, as director Andrés Baiz noted, changing Vergara's appearance to capture Blanco's essence was one of the biggest challenges.
"Her physical transformation, that was one of the toughest aspects of the whole show," he said in E!'s clip. "What we decided was that she has to be different than Sofía, but we shouldn't imitate Griselda Blanco."
That's why he was so impressed with the Hot Pursuit actress, adding, "She was redefining her work as an artist."
Read on for more photos of her epic transformation.