As her career in TV and film continues to flourish, Emmy nominee Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building) is looking for roles that are not only diverse, but ones that will also challenge her as an actress. With her latest film, Emilia Pérez, Gomez has found just that.
“I was just eager and itching to play a character [who] was completely opposite of anything I’ve done before,” Gomez, 32, told Remezcla during a recent in-person interview in Los Angeles. “I think that’s the idea I have with everything that I do.”
Emilia Pérez isn’t the first time Gomez has pivoted from the straight-laced characters that her fans grew up watching. After breaking into the entertainment industry as a kid on PBS and the Disney Channel, Gomez landed her first adult role in indie filmmaker Harmony Korine’s subversive 2012 crime-comedy Spring Breakers.
In Emilia Pérez, Gomez plays Jessi Del Monte, the wife of a Mexican drug cartel kingpin, who relocates to Switzerland with her children after the death of her husband. Little does Jessi know, however, that her husband faked his own death, so that he could undergo gender affirming surgery to begin a new life as a woman named Emilia Pérez.
Years later, Emilia cons her way back into her family’s life by pretending to be a distant cousin who wants to help Jessi raise her children. As telenovela-esque and risky as the narrative sounds (not to mention it’s also a full-fledged musical), Gomez was game from the start.
“I want to be reminded why I love film and filmmakers and working with great actors and the crew,” Gomez said. “All of it is just an experience every time. I feel like I made a family on this movie. It was really special. I think it was a challenge that I was willing to take.”
The family she made on the set of Emilia Pérez included actor Édgar Ramírez (The Assassination of Gianni Versace), who plays Gustavo, one of Jessi’s past lovers. Ramírez described what was so inspiring about working with Gomez.
“Selena is very open [and] very committed,” Ramírez, 47, told Remezcla. “It’s incredible how invested she is. Also, [she has] a combination of strength and vulnerability – with no apology – that’s fascinating. I feel the utmost respect for Selena as an actress.”
Gomez’s commitment to the role couldn’t have been more apparent watching her act in Spanish, something she had never done before. She also sings in Spanish, too, including in the songs “El Mal” and “Mi Camino.”
“I definitely wish I had more time [to prep],” Gomez said. “It was wonderful. The experience was in a way reconnecting. I’m grateful for it. If anything, I hope this isn’t [the] last thing I do in Spanish.”
Gomez added that she learned a lot making a movie like Emilia Pérez. She said she arrived on set with “an open mind and an open heart,” much like she hopes audiences do when they reflect on the deeper meaning behind the film, which centers on someone living their most authentic life.
“[Being open] really allows you to enjoy the experience watching these individuals go through their journey,” she said. “If anything, I hope it instills love, faith and hope.”
Emilia Pérez, which stars Selena Gomez, is currently playing at select theaters and now available on Netflix.
