Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora in Only Murders in the Building. Image Source: Screen rant
Selena Gomez has thoughts about her transition from Disney to adult acting.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter Podcast, actress Selena Gomez shed some light on what her transition from appearing on Disney Channel to full-fledged adult roles has been like.
Selena Gomez, who started working at Disney when she was seven years old and appeared for 'Barney and Friends', but shot to fame after she appeared as Alex Russo on the Disney Channel sitcom 'Wizards of Waverly Place' and as the lead singer of Selena and The Scene band. The actress-singer became the first person to accumulate 100 million followers on Instagram and currently has about 327 million.
During the talk, Selena Gomez remembered her first encounter with Demi Lovato, saying that they met at the Barney audition, where she sat with 1400 other kids, and the creators picked seven of them, including Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. Selena said that she was the girl in front of her, wearing a red ribbon that she would never forget and that she admired her greatly.
Selena Gomez, who swiftly transitioned from her Disney Channel roles to more mainstream and adult roles, added that she struggled with it since she did not feel that her peers accepted her in the industry and she found it very difficult for people to take her seriously. Selena Gomez, who is gearing up for season two of the successful and popular show, "Only Murders in the Building," mentioned that she has slowly pushed through that and even though it was frustrating for her to do it, she is glad she pushed it through but added that she felt like a joke.
Selena Gomez’s first project post-Disney was in the controversial movie "Spring Breakers" in 2012, in which she starred alongside Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, James Franco, and the movie engaged in various scenes marked with violence, sex, and drugs. Selena shared that she is grateful for where she is today and she thinks and believes that she has barely managed to touch the surface of what she can do, but she is going to keep going until she gets there.
She was questioned about becoming personal with her music during the interview, and she said that her 2014 song 'The Heart Wants What It Wants' was the first time she was honest about how she felt, leading to the song 'Lose You to Love Me,' which she described as her favorite. Selena Gomez explained that she needed to walk through all of those difficult and terrible things while dealing with medical concerns and a breakup and that she had a lot of soul searching to do.
The actress said that she does not have it all figured out, but that she is learning about herself, and that the break-up at the time allowed her to focus on several issues for which she wanted solutions. She also mentioned that her medical issues started at the same time, which made things difficult for her, but she chose to be honest about everything with her music and establish a persona that does not accept any foolishness or disrespect in any manner, and she is pleased of how she came out of it. Selena Gomez went on to reveal that they created "Lose You To Love Me," her first Billboard Hot 100 hit, in less than an hour and that she knew it would make an effect since it was her way of saying goodbye, and she was both delighted and terrified about it.
Selena Gomez is also an advocate for mental health awareness after she was diagnosed and checked into a mental health facility to take care of herself. Last year revealed that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder during a relationship with Miley Cyrus. Selena wants to raise awareness regarding mental health awareness and wants people to know that it should be given much-needed priority. She has her beauty brand, "Rare Beauty," in collaboration with the Rare Impact Fund, to earn $100 million over the next ten years to provide mental health care to people in underprivileged places.
Selena Gomez talked about her character Mabel from Only Murders in the Building and said that she relates to her on some level as she gets lonely at times and tends to have friends that are a bit older than her and loves to hang out with her mother, so she is very much like Mabel. Talking about working with Martin Short and Steve Martin, Selena Gomez said that her expectation for a man is to be honest, or any human is to be as decent as Martin and Steve. The actress said that they have been doing this longer than she has been alive, and they are the kindest people she has met.
Selena praised the men, saying they made her feel like she was part of a trio right away and that they were just the finest. They are modest and nice, and they simply have a human viewpoint on life that no one else she has ever encountered. The actress also said that she frequently inquires about their lives in the past, adding that it was always fascinating to learn about the profession and how things used to be. She went on to say that she felt like a sponge soaking up whatever she could and that they were all on the same e-mail chain.
Selena Gomez added that she has finished filming season two, is done with her cooking show, and is currently spending time in a music studio as she works on her new music and concluded that she is loving how things are with her right now and she is in a good space.
Only Murders in the Building returns on June 28th on Hulu.
