Carla Jimenez's character on The Mick, Alba, is many things. She's a stand-in guardian for the Pemberton kids. She's a rebel at heart, unafraid to try mushrooms or go full Poodle with a pill bottle (if you're not watching this show, it goes there).
And while Alba is sometimes the butt of the joke — for instance, when Jimmy (Scott MacArthur) colors her face with permanent marker during a sleepover gone wrong — there are certain categories of joke that she's never the victim of. Namely, Alba isn't prey to jokes about her weight or age. And for Jimenez, that's one major thing she loves about the role.
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During a conversation with Jimenez for a story I wrote in September, I had the chance to ask the actress about her views on The Mick's lack of stereotypes. What she said about the show addressed how the conversation about body diversity on screen is evolving — albeit slowly.
"I feel blessed with this part because I can say, they hired me [because] they thought my comedic talent was funny," Jimenez told Refinery29. "It literally didn't go to age, it didn't go to weight. It was like, You had the best comedic timing for this role, this is why we're hiring you. And the things I do could be put into any person of any age and weight, and it'll still be funny. So that's what I liked. There's nothing that jabbed at me, or that said, Oh, we hired you because of this... it comes down to the material, not the physical look."
Nevertheless, when I asked Jimenez if she thinks Hollywood is getting better about showing body diversity on screen, she admitted that there are still "a lot of doors that are closed that are hard to open."
The actress also shared some words of advice for other actors, noting that she's turned down roles in the past.
"Even when I was struggling to find work, it never occurred to me, like, Take this because you need it. Just don't sacrifice your pride, your self-respect like that," Jimenez told Refinery29. "I hope and challenge other actors, other women: Don't ever do anything that makes you feel less than because you needed the money."
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