America Ferrera Just Revealed What's Special About Her Superstore Character, Amy

Mere days after a jaw-dropping appearance at the Emmys, America Ferrera traded her glitzy red carpet dress for a fiery red number on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The Superstore actress, who just completed her first triathlon, opened up to the show's host about her recent physical feats and what her role on the hit NBC show means to her as a Latina actress.

"It was the first time I was asked to do a role that wasn't specifically for a Latina," she told Stephen. "Every other role that I had been offered had been specified . . . this was the first time I read a script that said, 'Amy, 30, no ethnicity.' And that seems like not that big of a deal, but in television and film, if ethnicity isn't specified, then the assumption — and the default, in most cases — is white. And you have to give a reason for that role to be something other than that."

Press play above to watch her elaborate even more on the groundbreaking part the writers played in casting such a diverse group of actors. Then, remember that amazing time she and Eva Longoria called out Hollywood's lack of diversity at the 2015 Golden Globe Awards.