Jaime Camil
Jaime Camil plays Rogelio Dela Vega in “Jane the Virgin.” In this photo, the actor attends Venice Family Clinic's Silver Circle Gala at Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on March 9, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. Getty Images/Mike Windle

In real life, Rogelio Dela Vega (Jaime Camil) of “Jane the Virgin” might be difficult to live with, much less like. But the show does something wonderful to the character that fans absolutely love Rogelio, quirks and all.

Camil told NPR that it’s because “Jane the Virgin” makes it a point to keep Rogelio “grounded.” He might be a huge telenovela star who could be rich and demanding, but deep down, his heart is in the right place.

“Every character, especially mine, we may live in a completely ridiculous universe, or, you know, outrageous universe, but every single character, we come from a sincere and honest place,” he said. “It's not from the tip of your nose out, it's from your guts and out. And I think that's the difference.”

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Camil said his character might say outrageous things like, “I want my daughter to have the pleasure of knowing me.” For regular folks, it sounds pompous and assuming. But fans know that Rogelio means well, and everything he does is out of love.

At the same time, Camil appreciates how showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman changed people’s misconceptions about the Latino community. Some believe all Latinos are like the stereotype and have bright pink walls and piñatas hanging from the ceiling of their homes. But the characters of “Jane the Virgin” changed all that.

“It's a beautiful [portrayal] of the story of human beings. They happen to be from a Latino/Hispanic background, but, you know, Jane's family could be from Turkey, they could be from Vietnam, they could be from Hungary. It's just a story about humans,” said Camil.

His thoughts are echoed by Andrea Navedo, the actress who plays his on-screen girlfriend Xo Villanueva. She earlier said that Xo is a great character despite her shortcomings, and it’s all because of her uniqueness. “That’s one of the things I love about her is she has flaws and weaknesses and to me that’s a dynamic character, not a one-note character like you usually see — the sexy, hot Latina stereotype,” Navedo told Latina.

“Jane the Virgin” Season 3 will return on April 24, Monday at 9 p.m. EST on The CW.

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