Estelle Getty was unforgettable as Sophia Petrillo in The Golden Girls. But years after the show’s success, the actor confessed that originally, producers struggled to hire her for the part.

“They felt my energy level might be too high for the role,” Getty said during an interview with the Pensacola News Journal. “They would never be specific, but they felt I might be too young. I never knew whether I had any competition for the role. I never saw anyone else.”

Getty, who based the character on a friend’s mother and her own husband’s grandmother, admired Sophia. “She gets to say a lot of things people would like to say but are too polite,” said the actor of her character.

Watch The Golden Girls on MeTV!

BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES

Weeknights at 10 PM, Sundays at 6 PM & 8 PM

*available in most MeTV markets

Getty also admitted that Sophia was a “projection” of herself.

“Sophia’s outspoken, but I see her as a very caring, loving person,” said the actor. “She’s strong. She makes a lot of comments, but she loves her daughter and friends.”

Getty played the character with much dedication and care, making Sophia one of the most well-loved characters in the series.

“I know this lady I’m playing,” Getty told the Birmingham News. “She’s fiesty, irreverent, and intractable. She’s partly me and partly my imagination, but she’s an original - and that’s what I’ve been playing all of my life— original characters.”