Selena Gomez has been nominated four times for the Emmy Award, twice for the Golden Globe and once for the Critics Choice Award for her wonderful work in 'Only Murders in the Building'.

Earlier this year, she shared the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival with her 'Emilia Pérez' co-stars.  Gomez plays Jessi Del Monte, the wife of a cartel leader, who knows nothing about her husband's transition and is led to believe that Emilia Pérez is a distant cousin.

The film is almost entirely shot in Spanish and the actress, who grew up speaking our language but lost fluency in her transition to Hollywood, took lessons to prepare for the role. Proud of learning Spanish for ‘Emilia Perez’, the actress explained to us how proud she feels of her Spanish roots and supporting our culture. 'Emilia Perez' will premiere this month on Netflix. We also asked her about the flourishing of her career in television and film, and about her struggle trying to give a voice to marginalized women.

Q:  What was it about Jessi that you found so compelling? 

SELENA: Basically, my team called me and said that Jacques Audiard was auditioning for his new movie. And before I even asked what it was about, I was like, “Great, I’m auditioning for it.” Just because my dream as an actor has always been to try to learn from people that I respect and I love and admire their work. So, I initially said yeah and I read the script. And I thought it was bold. It was thought provoking. It was dangerous and honestly could be executed in the wrong way. But I knew once I read it, I thought, okay, I definitely feel like I can do this. 

Q: Do you speak Spanish?

SELENA: I’m not fluent in Spanish, but I, you know, immediately worked with a coach before the audition. I think I had a month and I remember I put myself on tape. So, I didn’t find out till maybe nine or 10 months later that I got the part. I dedicated myself to learn Spanish, which was good, but it was a brutal dedication in those months because I really wanted this. 

It’s safe to say I don’t think any of us really thought, you know, it was going to turn out the way that the reception has been, just so sweet. But we really are proud of it and I couldn’t be more grateful for a director like Jacques to believe in me and choose, you know, me to trust me with this role. And I just thought she was very different from anything I’ve ever played, which I was like, thank God (laughs) It was a good feeling.

Q: How do you feel about acting for the first time in Spanish? And what kind of a special connection would you love to have with the Spanish audience? 

SELENA: I think for me, this was such an important role because I did get to go back to my roots. I was fluent in Spanish until I got my first job, which then led me to speaking mainly English-speaking parts. I thought it would be such an exciting thing for me, for my fans, for my family. This is definitely not the last thing I want to do in Spanish. I’m very proud of who I am. I’ve been in Spain, I have roots in Mexico and I’m very proud of what all Latinas have contributed to the movies because we need more of our representation. I am proud to know that all of us are leading this movie, it is a really nice feeling. 

Q: You did an album in Spanish, as well. 

SELENA: I did. Yes. I’ve done two. I’ve done, like, music on Deluxe and I released my album.

Q: Do you read in Spanish?

SELENA: I did the script in Spanish. That is all. I just like to do things that I know I can’t (laughs) Because it just makes it more fun, but reading in Spanish is very difficult.

Q: You knew what you were getting into?

SELENA: Well, actually, it was interesting because he wrote the script like an opera. So, it didn’t have all of these specific scenes, really, until we started shooting. So, he was writing new pages as we were going. By the end of the day, he’d say, “Okay, learn this monologue and we’re gonna do that, you know, tonight.”  I would just gladly take it and be sweating secretly. But it was fun. It was a whirlwind. So, I didn’t know all the details that really went into play until we got there. And he let us do our thing with the character and our characters. And it felt very liberating. 

Q: I love Jessi. I think she is misunderstood by a lot of people. 

SELENA: Like me. Laughs

Q: Your song in the movie, Mi Camino, has become a sort of this liberation song. 

SELENA: Yes. Actually, it was interesting. After Jacques had met me, the song I originally was supposed to sing was a very upbeat kind of aggressive song like Bienvenida. Then he met me and asked the composers, Clement and Camille, to watch my documentary, My Mind & Me, so they actually watched the documentary and he said I think we need to make something that’s a little bit more, I guess subtle, instead of aggressive. They actually wrote Mi Camino after, and it wasn’t on, you know, the original soundtrack. But it felt like the right move, for sure. 

Q: Transitioning from a comedic role in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ to the passionate and unique crime musical like ‘Emilia Perez’ must’ve been a significant shift. How did you approach preparing for such a dramatically different role, both linguistically and emotionally? 

SELENA: I guess it was all happening at once. I think I had a total of three months before we started shooting. So, most of my time was spent specifically on the language. And then I’m not sure what I was prepared for, ‘cause I didn’t know what it was gonna be like. And on my very first day of shooting, Jacques had me shoot the last scene of the movie. And I was definitely thrown into the mix. I had a lovely costar, Edgar Ramirez. He’s wonderful and made me feel comfortable instantly. I was like, “Nice to meet you. We’re supposed to be madly in love right now, running away.”  I was proud of myself because it scared me in the right way. 

Q: How does your work on Emilia Perez align with your mission to inspire marginalized communities?

SELENA: And how Emilia kind of plays into that. To be honest, I’m so grateful that I have this platform. And I think Emilia specifically is kind of a part of that narrative.  We’re celebrating women who are chasing and finding their own identity and whatever that looks like, because no one’s path is perfect. And I’ve always wanted to be a voice for people who felt just like me and I think it’s important to recognize that there are people. I mean, we’re all kind of hurting in some way.

So, to be there for other people is kind of one of my favorite things to do. But I think Emilia came out at the right time, you know, given the climate of things. I’m very proud of this movie. I’m very proud of Karla. I think she is outstanding, and I hope I’m watching history in the making when I’m working with her. 

Q: The movie addresses some significant themes regarding identity and transformation. How do those themes resonate with your own personal and professional journey?

SELENA: I think self-discovery, I’m never going to stop learning about myself. You know, I have worked with Steve Martin and Martin Short for four years now, and if anything, they always tell me they’re still learning, and it’s really beautiful. I think what this film represents in each woman is a sense of freedom and more than ever, we need that. And it’s just them making choices that may be not be the right ones, but they’re just trying to be seen.  They’re trying to be heard and now they wanna do something with that. So, I found it very empowering. But yeah, I feel like every day, I’m just discovering who I am and this whole process has, you know, taught me so much. And I feel really grateful. I’m always gonna be figuring things out. 

Q: Can you talk some more about performing the song ‘Mi Camino’ and shooting that sequence in the film? 

SELENA: I mean, it was really interesting ‘cause we actually had dance rehearsals to do a whole musical number of this technical dance. And then on set, the director, Jacques, said, “Just sing it live and pretend you’re at karaoke.” And I was like, “Okay, I’ll try that, but can we play the music just a little low, so I can sing along?” And he just said, “Pretend you’re at karaoke with your friends.” And I was like, “Okay.” So, I started to sing it and as a joke, we were like, “Okay, me and Edgar are gonna sing it one time.” One time turned into 18 times. It was so fun because he was also singing with me and it made me comfortable. So, a lot of the music he uses live from the actual day we shot. Which was fun, but also as an artist, you’re sometimes like, autotune, please. But it was great. It felt really raw and it was fun. I didn’t know that he was gonna do that, but that man is full of surprises. 

Q: You have so many different roles. You’re a singer. You’re an actor. You’re an executive producer. All of these roles are so different. Which one of them is most challenging and rewarding to you, and how does that, like, shape your future? How does it look in the future? 

SELENA: I would probably lead with my philanthropy. But the second, basically first two would be film and TV. I think I’ve never even done half the things that I want to do. And I’m excited in a way because I hope Emilia is the beginning of something for me in this field. I feel deeply respected in a way that makes me feel like I’ve earned my place to be here, and I want to continue to do movies that are different. Not necessarily me needing to be the center of attention. I enjoy doing movies as even just a small part in something great, because I want to learn and I just want to become a better actor, a better producer. And the rest, to me, is the icing on the cake. You know, I’m so grateful that I have music in my life because I think it’s a beautiful expression of how people feel. And it’s a universal language. You can be in any country, and if you sing your song with people, you’re all there together singing the same thing. It’s something that I’ll always cherish, but my heart definitely lies in this world.  

Q: Jacques Audiard is known for his rich storytelling. How was your experience collaborating with him, and what did he bring to the film that excited you as an actor? 

SELENA: I love his spontaneity. I thought the way he would just kind of take us on a journey with the story was really interesting. He’s also a wonderful director. And I will say females, because he trusts our instincts and he’ll just add a little bit to help us, you know, basically get there. But he allowed us to be exactly what we wanted to be as our characters. He’s fantastic. He’s like a little boy. When he gets something right, he jumps up and down. He’s like, yes, yes, yes! And he just gets so excited about his work. And I love working with people who are passionate and that actually care about every little detail. So, he was wonderful. I would love to work with him again. He taught me a lot and believed in me, and I’ll be grateful for that forever. 

Q: With a French au tour in the director’s chair, acting and singing in Spanish, the challenges must have been inevitable on set. But what was the most surprising moment during the making of the film? 

SELENA: How impressive Jacques is with different languages. He appreciates so many cultures. And though he doesn’t speak half of the language of his movies, he had this really unique way of understanding the melody behind the way that you would say a line, which I thought was really interesting. He knew exactly what we were saying, though he didn’t know the proper way. He said there’s something freeing about not focusing on every little word, but rather than focusing on the way we say our line. So, I thought that was really fascinating because he would almost use speaking voice as the tone of what we were trying to say. And I loved that. I thought it was very interesting. But don’t get me wrong, we were speaking French, Spanish, and English. We had a million interpreters around the set, so it was very interesting and funny in that way, but he just knew what he wanted, and he, you know, did a really great job helping us.  The way he had us kind of connect in a way where I wasn’t really sure what the reaction was gonna be, it made me really emotional. I was really proud of that, and we spent a lot of time on it. But it was so wonderful. 

Q: Is there any director or particular film genre that you’re interested in working in next? 

SELENA: Yeah. I would love to maybe, I don’t think I have anything specific as much as I have people that I’d love to work with. Like, I’d love to work with Martin Scorsese, as I’ve seen every single one of his movies. I’ve had, like, movie nights where it’s all about his movies. Greta Gerwig for sure. There’s a lot of actors that I’d love to work with as well.  But I don’t think there’s something I’m specifically chasing. I find that the best ones that I find, they’re in a sea of different things that I think people expect me to play. And then I find that one thing, and I just want to get it, and I will do everything I can to get into a room to say I can do this part if you believe in me. 

Q: When you were talking about how, you know, he saw something in you maybe you didn’t even see in yourself, what was that like? 

SELENA: No, that’s why I became very aware of my abilities, because I didn’t know what was happening as they were coming out. He actually didn’t know anything about me, and I loved that so much. It made me very, very new to him, so as I was auditioning, I think he could really appreciate just my performance for what it was. He’s just really believed in me and saw something in me, and I couldn’t be more grateful because I hope this is, you know, gonna open up more opportunities for me. 

Q: How do you approach singing and dancing as a character differently than when it’s your own public persona? 

SELENA: I tried really hard when we were doing the karaoke scene to not look like I was on stage performing, or doing a music video. But I found it rather easy to just go into something else. It’s so separate from my music, because this is like music I’ve never even heard before. You know, it was beautiful and moving and complicated and lively and forceful. It was really exciting, so we spent hours and hours in the studio and just perfecting it. They had me jump up and down and do a version. They were trying to get every sort of tiny detail right. 

And I actually appreciated that. So, it was really like a wonderful lesson in almost score making, if that makes sense, ‘cause making a pop album is much, much different.  It felt very separate. I have never danced that way before. I felt like I got whiplash by the end of Bienvenida. But it was really fun. It was something I had never done before, so I just tried my best to remove myself and just be in Jessi’s world. 

Q: Since this movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where you all won best actress, I’m just gonna keep throwing that in.  There’s been such a passionate response, and I’m sure in some ways, you couldn’t have predicted that, but it’s wonderful to do a film that, like, touches and entertains people. But people have a very strong connection with this movie. What has that experience been like? 

SELENA: Quite beautiful. I’ve been told things that I’ve never been told. Not necessarily like oh, you were great. It’s more like that's an interesting choice. Like, why did this move you so much? But I think overall, what people relate to is the fact that this movie is genuinely about these four women going through life.  And it all has to do with identity. It has to do with freedom. And I think people are craving that. And I think people want those kinds of stories to be told. Even though none of us are perfect in the movie, we still just try to bring life and humanity into these characters. And I hope it’s a movie of hope, you know. I hope that people are excited because of what we can do in storytelling and film, and how there’s no limits. And I think that was really encouraging.  I just have been very happy and pleased with people enjoying it. 

Q: Oh, when did you realize you were making something truly special and unique? 

SELENA: Honestly when I got the part. I had just felt like this was gonna be an experience I would never forget, and I would be beyond myself with working against all of these incredibly talented people. So, I was excited. 

By María Estévez

Correspondent writer