'Jane the Virgin' Stars Gina Rodriguez and Jaime Camil Look Back on Their 'Spectacular,' 'Unexplainable' Year

“It’s actually sake. You guys are gonna get drunk.”

Gina Rodriguez is sitting on a faux fur rug on the set of Jane the Virgin and pouring us imaginary booze from a tea set. (She’s fidgety, she says.) She’s joined on the rug by her Jane co-star Jaime Camil, as they sit down with Yahoo TV to discuss the year they’ve had.

And what a year it’s been. Back in January, Rodriguez beat out seasoned TV veterans like Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Edie Falco to win a Golden Globe for her first season as plucky mom-to-be Jane Villanueva. Camil is one of TV’s top scene-stealers as Jane’s egomaniacal soap star dad Rogelio. And Jane has entered its second season as a critic’s darling and fan favorite, winning AFI and Peabody Awards and welcoming big-name guest stars like Britney Spears and Rita Moreno.

All of which gave us plenty to talk about over an imaginary round of sake. Here, in a very fun and foul-mouthed conversation, Gina and Jaime tell us about their most cherished memories from 2015, that surreal Golden Globes night (and Gina’s pre-show workout routine), the warm family atmosphere they’ve built on set, Gina’s run-in with Martin Scorsese, their favorite scenes to perform in as actors — oh, and Gina explains to Jaime what a “jerk fest” is. (Parental discretion is advised.)

How would you describe your year in one word?
Jaime: Spectacular.

Gina: Unexplainable.

Yeah, it starts all the way back in January with the Golden Globes, right?
Gina: And he was sitting right next to me.

Jaime: I knew she was going to win. They look at me like I’m crazy: “You’re gonna win, you’re gonna win.” We were at the Globes, and remember? We were all together, and…

Gina: And they started saying my name, and he put his head down and started, like, praying.

Jaime [whispering]: I was cursing.

Gina: [Laughs.] No, he was sending the good vibes. He was on my right, and my sister was on my left. And I just remember it going in super slow motion: I looked over at [showrunner] Jennie [Urman], and she’s looking at me. My sister’s already crying. And then Jaime… so I just had this orb of ridiculous energy around me.

Jaime: And the next category was the show. [Note: Jane the Virgin was also nominated for best comedy series.] We were so excited about her win: “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” And they’re like, “Transparent, whatever…” “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” “And the winner is Transparent…” “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!… So when are we up?”

Gina: [Laughs.]

Jaime: We missed it. We lost.

Gina: He was too busy celebrating. Which is awesome. I had a lot of love that night. This man is very loving. I love him.

Jaime: First of all, we’re very happy and grateful to be in the employed list of actors in Los Angeles.

Gina: Yes. That’s number one.

Jaime: Second, we’re in a beautiful show that’s critically acclaimed, and written so well and everything. But I think that the trick is that we love each other so sincerely and so much.

Gina: So hard.

Jaime: You’ve been to a lot of sets. And I’m sure you’ve been to the ones where: “Don’t look at them directly in the eyes."

Gina: Here, if you don’t look us in the eye, we’re like, "Look at me in the eye!”

Jaime: Yes! And we kiss and we hug and we’re, “Welcome to the show!” And these cameos, or the special guests, they all arrive scared.

Gina: Timid, yeah.

Jaime: Timid. And we’re like, “Yeah! Yeah! Everybody get naked! Touch my butt!” And they’re like, “Where are we? What is this?"

Gina: They’re quickly in the family. Because we’ve all done shows where we go and do our little stint, and the cool kids sit together, and you wish you were cool. We know that feeling. So we don’t want that feeling to exist. Everybody’s in the cool kids club.

So you invite them to touch your butt…
Jaime: Maybe slap us a little.

Gina: Just Jaime.

Jaime: Just me.

Gina: No, everybody does that.

Do you guys have a most memorable day on set this year? One that stands out?
Gina: That’s impossible.

Jaime: That’s impossible, because we have great days. We love each other. Every single day is a party. But probably when we found out about the Golden Globes…

Gina: Yeah, that was a pretty great day. And we were all here on set the next day.

Jaime: And then we were at the Golden Globes, and we found out about the second season. So we were like, "We don’t need more freak-out material today! The Golden Globes are enough!”

Gina: I was sweating. Thank God I was wearing black. Just sweating down my sides.

Jaime: Were you going like this? The Golden Globe arms? Toned arms?

Here, Jaime raises his arms straight out to the sides and makes little circles with them, like he’s exercising.

Gina: Because we do Golden Globe arms. Straight out.

Jaime: She got nominated, and all of us, especially her, started to do the Golden Globe squats, the Golden Globe arms. So every single day, we’re doing…

Now they’re both doing arm circles.

Gina: And we dance a lot. So we keep the cardio high.

Jaime: Well, because we’re spectacular dancers.

Gina: [Laughs.] We’re spectacular dancers! We’re professional dancers… had we been professional dancers, we would have been them.

Jaime: Rita Moreno wishes.

Gina: [Laughs.] And that little spitfire. Wow. What a lovely woman. We got so lucky to have her. We had a lot of dream moments. Let’s be real. I feel like it’d be easier to pinpoint one bad day than it is to pinpoint one good day.

Photos: Team Rafael vs. Team Michael: Which Guy Should Jane the Virgin Choose?

How about Britney Spears being here? What kind of day was that on set?
Gina: That’s what I’m saying! Me and him, we worked with Britney directly. So we both got very lucky… because she had to talk to us. [Laughs.]

Jaime: She’s very nice.

Gina: She’s very nice.

Jaime: But a lot of people, I think, have taken advantage of her throughout her life. So she’s very cautious.

That was kind of the plot of the episode, right? Rogelio took advantage of their friendship and tipped off the paparazzi.
Jaime: Yes! Exactly.

Gina: So that day, we had a lot of the cast on set to see her.

Jaime: The first day she came in, she was super professional. On time. Never waited on her. Her comic timing is very good. And then the second and third day…

Gina: She started loosening up. Because it’s trust. Trust is built. You need to have that built in art. But it didn’t help that everybody came to see her perform our first day. I mean, we were all so excited to have her, so every single person… there were all these eyes in the background. So I’m sure she was like, “Hey guys, uh…”

And she’s a big fan of the show, right?
Jaime: I think that gave confidence to the producers to reach out. Because she said in an interview with People magazine, she was like, “I love Jane the Virgin.”

Gina: Yeah, she was badass. I mean, we’ve had some really stellar guest stars.

Jaime: Kesha… let’s remember.

Gina: Kesha… we have Adam Rodriguez on right now. Diego Boneta is coming. Kate del Castillo. Nia Vardalos…

Jaime: Nia Vardalos! Of course!

Gina: We have Jorge Diaz right now.

Jaime: Nicholas Gonzalez.

Gina: It’s pretty awesome to see who’s desiring to come on your show. And it’s interesting, too, because this year has been such a beautiful triumph of being able to change the minds of so many when it came to their view of The CW. You know, being a younger demographic, and now it’s much more broad. It’s much more open.

Related: ‘Jane the Virgin’ Season Premiere Recap: Jane’s Baby Got Back

Yeah, to be honest, I never watched The CW before Jane the Virgin premiered.
Jaime: You don’t like zombies? Vampires? [Laughs.]

Not really. But your show has definitely opened up a lot of minds, and a lot of critics’ minds, to the network.
Gina: And that’s Jennie. That’s Jennie Urman and her brilliant mind. Because she definitely gives us material… it’s all her. We’re the lucky storytellers in this.

Jaime: We have brilliant writers.

Gina: Brilliant writers. And it really gives us so much to play with. I was talking about it the other day to one of my friends, who is quote-unquote not our demographic. He’s probably someone who wouldn’t be watching The CW. Mid-30s, male. And so I’m like, “I would love for you to see this last episode we just did. The winter finale. You haven’t seen any of these shows, but if you just watch this one, I would appreciate that. That would mean something to me.”

And he watched, and he was like, “Shut the f–k up. It’s so smart. You get to travel through so many different characters. All the actors are strong. The writing is so smart. The tone is so smart.” And this is somebody I really, really respect. I really respect his artistic opinion. And that’s the beautiful thing: to be able to defy when somebody says that can’t exist somewhere, or can’t exist with a certain ethnicity, or it can’t be done by a certain person. I feel like we’ve been able to defy all of those, and that’s very exciting. I think that’s been the most joyous experience.

Jaime: Yeah, I think that’s great. Just the fact that we’re portraying — the show, like Gina has said in many interviews, is about people. It’s not about a demographic or an ethnicity. It’s just about people. The fact that our family happens to have a Latin background… we could be from freakin’… Vietnam.

Gina: Turkey.

Jaime: Whatever. Exactly. We happen to be Latinos, and thank God the writers — Jennie and her amazing team of writers — do not portray Latinos as a caricature. Like, because we’re Latinos, we have to be [in stereotypical Latino accent] talking like this all the time! I don’t talk like that. I mean, a little bit.

Gina: Once in a while.

Jaime: But not that much. And we don’t have our houses decorated with pi?atas hanging from the ceiling.

Gina: It’s true, it’s true. It’s broadening perspectives. I think about it with my family members, because I come from a pretty traditional Puerto Rican family, where some of the males would be afraid of homosexuality. And then they meet the gay uncle, the uncle that everybody loves. And you’re like, “Oh… homosexuality’s not that bad.” It’s the broadening of perspectives.

Yeah, it’s like when you meet that person, and you interact on a personal level…
Gina: And you relate! And you see the lack of danger. The brick wall of fear is broken down. And I think that’s what’s so beautiful about the show; that’s what it does. It talks about social constructs and has social commentary without judgment. And it gives you an opportunity to discuss it. I think that’s been very cool, this second season. But I guess this whole year is including the end of last season, and this season. So it’s been pretty incredible. I mean, the AFI, the Peabody Award…

Jaime: People’s Choice.

Gina: People’s Choice… I mean, we’ve been able to do so much.

Jaime: The critics, they love us. They nominate us. They don’t give us awards, but they love us.

Gina: He’s so bitter from last year! Give him an award!

Photos: The 23 Best TV Moments of 2015

Which one was that, that you didn’t get?
Jaime: No, for the second year, we are nominated again for Critics’ Choice. The show, Gina, and myself. So we are there on the red carpet, and I don’t know why they ask this, but they’ll say, “Does it feel awkward to be here with the critics?” And I’m like, “F–k no, I love the critics!”

Gina: We love the critics! The critics had our back so hardcore.

Jaime: I actually feel at home. And you know, sometimes they write good things, and sometimes they write bad things. They just write…

Gina: What they believe! It’s art, and art is subjective. But it’s really awesome just to be put in the same circle as people that you admire, you know. It’s also very good that now it’s like overwhelmingly good television. Versus before, it’d be like, “There’s that, and that, and that.” And now it’s like, wow.

I know. On all different platforms and channels.
Jaime: I think The CW is more of a platform that you watch on devices, right? Like apps and devices. Because of the demographics.

And young people don’t have TVs anymore. They watch it all on their phones.
Gina: I know. I met Martin Scorsese and his daughter Francesca back at the Kennedy Center. And Francesca is a fan of Jane the Virgin. And she’s like, “Oh my God, it’s so exciting to meet you!” And I’m like, “Dude, you live in the same home as the best director in the entire world. And you’re excited to meet my stupid ass?"

Jaime: You should’ve been like, "Wow, I would love to be your friend. Can we have a sleepover tonight?"

Gina: No, no! [Laughs.] So then I was talking to Martin, and he’s like, "Yeah, she’s a big fan of the show…”

Jaime: Oh, now we go on a first-name basis?

Gina: Yeah, me and Marty. Actually, we were at “Martin” at first, and now we’re up to “Marty.” And now it’s…

Jaime: Uncle Emme?

Gina: [Laughs.] Yeah, Uncle Emme! That’s what I’m going to call him. The Spanish M. But he said, “Yeah, every time I pass by her room, she’s watching Jane the Virgin. But she’s watching it on her little tablet, this close to her face!” And I’m laughing, because I’m like, “Wow, that is exactly how it’s going down, huh?”

Jaime: And Martin Scorsese, I’m sure he has an amazing screening room theater.

And she watches it on her iPad.
Gina: This close to her face. She was the sweetest, cutest little thing. And I was like, “Thanks, dude. Thanks for giving me a job.” That’s why I have a job. A hundred percent.

What’s the funniest thing someone did or said on the set this year?
Gina [pointing at Jaime]: Everything he says. All the time, every day.

Jaime: They give me brilliant material for the character.

Gina: No, everything that comes out of your mouth in between!

Jaime: Well, we’re all pretty funny.

Gina: I am f–king funny! I try to tell the guy I’m dating how funny I am, and he doesn’t believe me.

Jaime: And Brett [Dier, who plays Michael] is funny.

Gina: Brett’s really funny. We dance a lot. In between takes, we dance. We have cameramen, they’ll sing for us. They’ll be like, “Get it, get it, get it, get it…” And they’ll move the camera like it’s a disco. They play with us, and we have a lot of fun.

Jaime: One of our crew members went to work on another show on the same lot, and he came back and was like, “You don’t understand what we have here.” It’s just magic. And when we finished our first season, I told Bobby our sound guy, “Listen, I’m sure you’re gonna do a movie or another show,” and he was like, “Never!” Dead serious. He was like, “I’m never leaving you guys."

Gina: And that’s a testament to how much fun we have. Because you know, our show doesn’t have the most money. We don’t get lobster at catering.

Jaime: What’s that word again? "Catering”? What’s that?

Gina: I don’t know.

Jaime: Me either.

Gina: We don’t get it. So because of that, it’s really a testament to the fact that they want to be here, which is really cool. Because they can go on another set and get their lobster at lunchtime. But we’ve got the pizza. I got them pizza yesterday. That’s how we roll.

Related: The Do’s and Don’ts of New Motherhood, According to ‘Jane the Virgin’ and ‘The Mindy Project’

Is there a favorite scene, as actors, that you got to perform in this year?
Gina: A lot.

Jaime: That’s a very difficult question for Gina, because every single scene that she has, the heartfelt scenes with the Villanueva women… it’s like a tour de force. They’re just brilliant. All of the Villanueva women. I’m more on the light side.

Gina: I was gonna say, how are you gonna pick? Every single moment you have is brilliant.

Jaime: But it’s more on the comedic side. I do love the scene we did where they kill Santos, and for the first time, Jane calls him dad.

Gina: Awwww, I love that scene! And you got to go from comedic to super serious.

Jaime: That was super fun. But all the Villanueva scenes, when the three women get together and talk about life? Oh my God, it’s just beautiful.

Gina: I feel very lucky… I feel so lucky.

Jaime: They write us very well. They’ll say, “What do you expect for your character?” And I’m like, “I don’t expect!” I would be a very greedy bastard if I asked for more. They just write brilliant stuff. I just don’t have to mess it up. That’s my job: not to mess it up.

Gina: Yeah, because this last episode, the winter finale, I loved so much. I love the fantasies, and that Jane can not be Jane. Because Jane is very specific. She’s Type A, and there’s a certain way she walks, there’s a certain level of the voice that I talk in with her. And sometimes I can’t get my ghetto energy out. [Laughs.] I can’t do it with her, because she’s not that person. She’s not that girl. But then the fantasies… I can go all over the place. Like the Pregnant Punisher.

Jaime: Pregnant Punisher! Boom, belly bomb!

Gina: [Laughs.] Or I'm wearing corsets where I can’t breathe. Or I’m playing Princess Bride moments.

Or how about Bachelorette Jane, from earlier this season?
Gina: Bachelorette Jane! That was so fun! It was so hard to shoot. She was always drunk. But it was great, because Jane’s never like that. So I get to play all of these characters that I would ideally love to play, especially being on a television show where the girl is so specific. And God willing, we have some legs for a little while.

You have to think about as an actor, they’re always like, “Just wait until Season 3; you’re gonna hate her.” Remember last year? They were like, “Wait until Season 2; you guys are all gonna hate each other.” So they were always saying, “Wait, you’re gonna get sick of her; you’re not gonna want to play her." And I’m like, "I don’t play her all the time.” I play everything under the sun! I get to play slapstick comedy. I get to play smaller, subtle comedy that’s not as sitcom-y. I get to play drama. I get to be sad. I get to play these characters. And I can’t even believe everything that’s happened has only happened in a year and a half. It feels like it’s been seven years. The best years of my life.

Jaime: When we finished the first season, we were really sad. We weren’t like, “Finally! Hiatus.” We don’t want to go on hiatus!

Gina: Yeah, I worked the whole summer on a film, and I had about two weeks off between the show and the movie and then the show again. And I thought I was going to be really burnt to the ground. And I got here, and I got energized. It was like, “Oh, I’m home. This makes sense.” I come here to get energized. Which is kind of cool. And we get paid for this! Don’t tell anybody.

One scene that stood out to me this year was the christening scene, with Jane reading that letter to her baby and flashbacks to her mom and grandmother reading the same letter to their kids.
Gina: Awww… yeah! You’re giving me goose bumps.

Jaime: They always cry at table reads.

Gina: I know. I’ll cry at table reads. I’ll cry at rehearsals. And I might have nothing to be sad about. I’ll just cry… the writing is so beautiful. That’s a testament to the good writing. Because you can read it and go right there. You’re like, “Oh my God, I feel this. I feel this so strongly.” You don’t need to force it. That letter to the baby… oh God. Yeah, we’re lucky. We’re definitely the blessed ones. And as long as they want to write?

Jaime: We’ll be there.

Gina: Yeah, we’ll be there.

And Rogelio, he’s grown up a bit this year, I think. He’s still self-involved, obviously, but we’ve also seen him swallow his pride to help his family.
Jaime: I think yes, when you’re playing a comedic character, you have to play it very sincere. And honestly, and from the heart. If you just go to a slapstick, “I’m throwing a pie in your face, and then I’m gonna throw another one, and another one, and wait, wait! There’s another one"… it’s like, "Dude, enough.”

Gina: You balance it so well, Jaime.

Jaime: But that’s the writing as well. And of course, extremely well delivered, but…

Gina: [Laughs.] He’s playing Rogelio right now.

Jaime: I am him!

You slip into that sometimes?
Jaime: All the time. I live in his flesh. But I believe the key is that they write a very well-balanced character. And also, we’re very sincere. The key to comedy is to play it real, and with honesty, and with heart.

Gina: Yeah. And love your characters. Love them.

Jaime: So whenever, for example, my character says a line like, “I wanted my director to have the pleasure of knowing me”? In a normal world, you would slap him. “Get the f–k out of here.” But you watch the show, and you go, “Awww…”

Gina: Awww… redemption. Redemption’s huge on this show.

Jaime: Because it’s really sincere. It’s from your guts, and out. And if you’re playing comedy or drama, whatever you’re playing, you have to play it sincerely. And with honesty. I think that’s the key. That we are in this outrageous universe we’re living in, but we all believe in it so much. We’re committed to living in this universe with the truth. We’re not there just because we have to make people laugh. When we deliver comedic lines, we’re not delivering them like [with a big fake smile], “And now I’m gonna say this to you, audience!” [He makes a rim shot sound.] No. We deliver lines to each other, and we connect with each other in a very truthful way.

Gina: Wait, the episode with your father hasn’t aired yet?

Jaime: Not yet.

Gina: That’s gonna be great.

Jaime: Because my dad’s gay. It’s already in the trailer. Rita Moreno says, “My husband is gay, and he’s leaving me.”

Gina: Because you see Jaime in that episode… I love watching Jaime, I love working with Jaime, I love being around Jaime outside of work. I love Jaime. Big time. He’s an amazing human being. And literally, there is nobody on this planet who could play Rogelio, and make him so loving and redeeming. Anybody else playing him, you’d be like, “You f–king dick.” You would! A hundred percent. But it’s like, his heart comes first, and then his body follows after.

This next episode, I guess it’ll come out in January, Jaime goes like that: from slapstick to subtle comedy to very heartfelt, and wanting to connect. And from English to Spanish back to English. It’s a very difficult thing to do. [They high-five.] When you’re having a conversation with your mom and dad, and you literally go from a funny moment to going into Spanish and very grounded and petrified for your dad? It’s just a beautiful thing to watch.

Jaime: I love you so much.

Gina: But I really mean that.

Jaime: That’s my point. We mean it. When I tell you, “Yes, the Villanueva women are amazing,” it’s not because [with a big fake smile] “Gina is the lead, so I have to say this!” No, we love each other. And most of all, we respect each other very much.

Jaime’s phone rings.

Gina: Jaime, you didn’t turn your phone off! Who’s calling you?

Jaime: It’s my assistant in Mexico.

Gina: Oh! “It’s my assistant… in Mexico!”

Jaime: He’s my assistant in Mexico… because the one in Brazil is already on vacation! [Laughs.] Boom!

Gina: [Laughs.]

Jaime: And I don’t have one in the U.S. because they’re too expensive! Boom! No, sorry. They’re probably telling me… that the plane is ready for me to travel!

Gina: [Laughs.] It’s on the roof.

Jaime: No, we respect each other very much. That’s beautiful. And in a truthful, honest way. Not in a bulls–t kind of way. You know [with fake enthusiasm]: “I love Gina. Her scenes are amazing.” [Eye-roll.]

Gina: Is this a jerk fest? Is that what we’re giving you right now, Dave?

Jaime: What’s a “jerk fest”?

Gina: Now it’s dirty. Now me explaining it is gonna sound dirty. It’s just… giving compliments is like jerking each other off.

She makes a “jerking off” hand motion.

Jaime: Oh! Okay.

Gina: [Laughs.] That’s what I said! It sounds bad, now that I have to explain.

Jaime: I don’t think it was bad until the hand movement. Everything was going good until then.

Jane the Virgin returns Monday, Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. on The CW.