It’s been less than 48 hours since Gina Rodriguez presented at the Golden Globes, and she’s feeling a little out of sorts as we talk on the phone. “I left the Globes, did press for Jane the Virgin in L.A., jumped on a plane to Miami, got here last night, and then started press at 7 A.M. [for Carmen Sandiego] I don’t even know my name right now!”

It’s a whirlwind schedule, for sure, but also oddly appropriate for someone playing Carmen Sandiego, the fictional globe-trotting “thief with a conscience.” Rodriguez grew up on the game show version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, now she’s stepping into the mysterious mastermind’s shoes for Netflix’s animated reboot. “I said 1000% yes [to Carmen],” Rodriguez says. “I still can’t believe it.”

Rodriguez credits Carmen with inspiring her to travel and learn new cultures, religions, and languages. “Coming from a low-income family in the hoods of Chicago, I don’t know how much I would have desired to see the world outside of mine if it wasn’t for Carmen,” she says. “[Through the show], I got to travel to Thailand, Ecuador, Panama, Japan, and more when we couldn’t in my household. That’s OK because my parents gave us the tools and education to give us opportunities so we could eventually travel ourselves. And that’s exactly what my sister and I did.”

Although Rodriguez can afford to fly anywhere she wants to now, she says it’s the lessons that she learned as a kid that she wants to pass down to the future generations. “I don’t have children yet, but I want one real bad,” she says. “All the men and women who grew up with Carmen are now in their 30s and 40s, so now they get to [introduce] her to their children.”

In the meantime, she says she’s getting feedback from other members of her family, especially her 9-year-old nephew. Before she got engaged to Joe LoCicero last year, for example, her nephew asked when they’d be getting married. “I was like, ‘I don’t know. We discussed it, but I’m going to give him space to ask me,’ and my nephew says, ‘Ask you? Why would he ask you? Women ask the men these days.’”

She says she replied, “‘Oh really? No, sweetheart, it hasn’t been traditional, but it’s really awesome to see a woman who does that.'” Her nephew’s response? “‘Well, women make more money than men.’”

“I was like, ‘Sadly, we’re still fighting for pay equity, so, no, women don’t make more than men,’” Rodriguez continues. “And he goes, ‘My mommy makes more than my daddy, and you make more, so don’t women always make more than men?’”

“I thought, How interesting. He has these women in his life living a different space than we’re used to seeing, and he is being so shaped by that,” she says. “Here I’m thinking I’m only affecting women, when I have my nephew being like, ‘I see you making deals. You’re the CEO of your company.’ So it’s a reflection to young boys that that is what a young woman can be.”

That’s why Rodriguez jumped at the chance to play “this strong, fierce, brave woman” in both the animated and live-action versions. Of the latter, she says she can’t talk about it too much— it’s in the very early stages, but she’s excited to bring Carmen to life.

“I’ve made a lot of projects geared toward older audiences, so to be able to play to this [younger] demographic where I was so inspired and motivated and encouraged to do what I love…those are transformative years,” she says. “If it wasn’t for my education, I probably would never be in the position I’m in.”

Carmen Sandiego premieres on Netflix today, January 18.

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