Selena Gomez says she felt recognised as an actor when taking part in her new film Emilia Perez.
The Emmy-nominated actress stars in the drama musical which follows four women as they find their paths to the lives they have always wanted.
She tells Sky News acting in Spanish was a joyful challenge.
“It was very exciting. I’m not completely fluent, so for me, it was really incredible to be able to even just be around people who were speaking it. I found it to be a very proud moment for sure.”
Selena Gomez as Jessi in Emilia Perez. Pic: Shanna Besson/Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/ France 2 Cinema
The 31-year-old first began her acting career in 2002 after securing the role of Gianna in Barney & Friends alongside her future Princess Protection Program co-star Demi Lovato.
But it was her lead role as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place that cemented her position as a prominent figure in the industry and paved the way for the artist to pursue film, TV shows and a hugely successful music career.
Gomez as Jessi. Pic: Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/France 2 Cinema
Leaving the children’s TV channel in 2012, she decided to take on a role in the coming-of-age film Spring Breakers.
She says being in the project with Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and James Franco felt like the first time she was making something for her and not any external responsibilities she may have had at the time.
“I was only 18. It was a very odd choice for me at the time because I had just finished working on my show and I had this freedom.
“So in a way I felt like I could rebel. And even though my character is pretty safe in the movie, it was just enough for me to get this hunger for art, for abstract and crazy colours and cinematography. It just became addicting.”
Since then, the creative has secured four Emmy nominations for acting and executive producing, two Grammy nominations for her music and has amassed a reported net worth of over $1bn through her make-up brand Rare Beauty.
She is also the second most followed person on Instagram, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.
Now starring in the Jacques Audiard film Emilia Perez, Gomez says she’s grateful for the path she has had in the industry and feels more “confident” to pursue roles that challenge her skills as an actor.
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“I definitely don’t have any regrets. I genuinely think if anything, doing this movie has given me a little bit of a pat on the back and I felt encouraged.
“I feel eager and excited to go for material that I don’t think people would typically expect of me.”
Emilia Perez
Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro in Emilia Perez. Pic: Shanna Besson/Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/France 2 Cinema
The Spanish-language musical is set in Mexico and also stars Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon and Adriana Paz.
Told through a mix of film genres, it follows a drug lord who wants to transition from male to female and her life afterward.
Zoe Saldana, one of the highest grossing actors of all time, says she’ll “never regret being a superhero” but being in this project allowed her to focus on the type of filmmaking she always wanted to do.
“Jacques Audiard is very much aligned with the kind of art that I like to consume, and I like to wish to be a part of.
“So for my career in Marvel and for [Selena’s] in Disney, to deliver us full circle to work with someone that we grew up sort of admiring, it means that the whole road was worth it every step along the way.”
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She added: “I never had the opportunity to reconnect with Spanish in my work through my craft because in my everyday life, as soon as these cameras go off, I’m only in Spanish. So I was happy.”
The Avatar star says she’s aware the film is “a niche of a niche of a niche” project and hopes people are “curious enough to watch this”.
“People are really taking to it and it just goes to show that it is good to bet on yourself and if the choices that you are making in your life are done with an open heart and their heart driven and you’re winning, then stay on that path.”
Emilia Perez is streaming on Netflix now.