Selena Gomez.Photo: Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images
Selena Gomezis coming back to television, and the break has only helped her grow as an actress.
Asked about how the time off changed her as an actress on Friday during theOnly Murders In the BuildingTelevision Critics Association press panel with costarsSteve MartinandMartin Short, Gomez said that she’s a much more “sophisticated” actress than she was when she first started in the business.
“I signed my life away to Disney at a very young age, so I didn’t know exactly what I was doing,” she joked. “I was a kid I didn’t know what I was doing, I was just running around on set, and now I feel like a sponge and I soak up all the wisdom that I can.”
Selena Gomez in ‘Only Murders in the Building’.Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu
The “Lose You to Love Me” singer made her acting debut on PBS’Barney & Friendsfrom 2002 to 2004 before she landed at Disney for a brief role inHannah Montanafrom 2007 to 2008.
She was a series lead onWizards of Waverly Place,starring in the series alongside Jake T. Austin, David Henrie, Jennifer Stone, Maria Canals-Barrera, and David DeLuise.
Of her latest role in the comedic murder-mystery, Gomez told press on Friday, “The level of sophistication of the material is the first reason why I wanted to do this.”
HerOnly Murders In the Buildingcostar Martin, 75, joked during the panel, “I’m dying to be cast as my actual age instead of this damn 35!”
Although this is Gomez’s first return to television since Disney, she’s acted in several movies, includingSpring Breakers,The Big Short,Fundamentals of CaringandThe Dead Don’t Die.
She also executive produced the Netflix series13 Reasons Why, as well as the Netflix docuseriesLiving Undocumentedabout undocumented people in the United States. Most recently, she premiered anew cooking showon HBO Max, calledSelena + Chef, which explored her skills in the kitchen whilehunkered down at homeduring the coronavirus pandemic.
Wizard’s of Waverly Place.Bob D’Amico/Disney Channel via Getty
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Speaking toVoguefor its April cover story, the singer admitted that after launching into fame as a child star on Disney Channel, she worried about being typecast.
“I still live with this haunting feeling that people still view me as this Disney girl,” she told the outlet earlier this year.
Gomez explained that starting her career early, playing Alex Russo onWizards of Waverly Placemade her feel like she needed “to be perfect.”
“That was my job in a way—to be perfect,” she said. “You’re considered a figure kids look up to, and they take that seriously there.“Only Murders in the Buildingpremieres Aug. 31 on Hulu.
Scott Huver
source: people.com
