«What an insane detour, » Selena Gomez about her most «difficult» role in Spring Breakers after leaving Disney
Selena Gomez reflects on her performance in the controversial crime comedy Spring Breakers.
Alongside current co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón, the Emilia Pérez actress appeared for an interview with Elle, describing her role in filmmaker Harmony Korine’s 2012 picture as her «most challenging.»
«I was only 18 or 19,» Gomez, who is currently 32, clarified. «It was such a crazy detour, and it was the first thing I did right after my Disney show.»
Nine months after Gomez’s four-season tenure on the Disney Channel comedy Wizards of Waverly Place came to an end, the movie made its international premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2012.
The R-rated Spring Breakers was a change for the young actress, who had previously only starred in Disney films and other family-friendly films like 2010’s Ramona and Beezus, even though Gomez played a fervently religious good-girl counterpoint to costars Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, and Rachel Korine’s wild party girls.
Gomez claims that the movie was a game-changer for her.
She told Elle, «I realized then that I was going to love filmmakers and really fun, gritty stuff that was a little too graphic.»
She revealed to Variety earlier this year that Korine’s mother, 48-year-old Mandy Teefey, had admired her earlier work and played a key role in getting her the part in Spring Breakers. «A project I’m proud of despite its uniqueness,» she said of the movie.
Gomez has once again taken on a challenging task with Emilia Pérez.
In the Spanish-language musical drama directed by Jacques Audiard, Gascón plays the titular role of a transgender drug cartel boss in Mexico City who is looking for a way out of her criminal existence.
The movie, which debuted on Netflix on November 13, has gotten great reviews. At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Gomez, Saldaña, Gascón, and costar Adriana Paz shared the Best Actress prize.
Additionally, the film was chosen as France’s submission for the 97th Academy Awards’ Best International Feature Film category.
