Jane the Virgin: The role Gina Rodriguez played in casting Tyler Posey

As much as Jane the Virgin fans were devastated when Michael died, Gina Rodriguez was not only losing her on-screen partner, but also her off-screen partner. “I really did suffer a loss when we lost Michael,” Rodriguez says. “Losing Brett was such a significant loss for me. He was my acting partner.” So when it came time to cast the role of Adam, Jane’s first love and season 4 love interest, Rodriguez was one of the first people who thought of Teen Wolf‘s Tyler Posey.

“I did the cover of Backstage magazine back in 2012 with Tyler before anything had really happened in my life, and he was already in like the third season in Teen Wolf. And I loved him so, so dearly that when [showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman] was introducing Adam, it was actually me and the costume designer that were walking across the studio and we were like, ‘Tyler would be unbelievable. He’s finishing Teen Wolf. He’s absolutely freaking adorable. He’s the coolest dude ever. He’s a great freaking actor.’ And it happened within like a day. They told Jenny, Jenny was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m obsessed with him.’ She offered the role. Tyler and I had wanted to work together for forever and it was like done, done, done. And then it happened.”

Although there was a brief moment where they thought they’d lost Posey. “He is so in demand because he’s such a freaking love bug and he did a movie this summer and then he needed to do another movie and we thought we were going to lose him and I was devastated,” Rodriguez says. “I was legitimately devastated. But we didn’t lose him, so it was like the best thing in the world.” And now, Rodriguez has a new screen partner, and furthermore, it’s a partnership that brings out the youthful side of Jane. “It’s so fun for Jane to feel again and feel deeply,” Rodriguez says. “I’ve been wanting it for her.”

Jane the Virgin airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.