After Selena Gomez wrapped four seasons of Wizards of Waverly Place, the Disney Channel star memorably did the unexpected by starring in Harmony Korine’s R-rated romp and one of the first A24 movies, Spring Breakers alongside High School Musical actress Vanessa Hudgens. It was quite the pivot for both actresses, to say the least. Gomez, who was still quite young when filming the movie, recently recalled an exchange she had with Hudgens while making the film and now chalks it up to her "naive" nature at the time.
In the movie itself, Gomez plays Faith, the most pure amongst a group of college students. The character spends much of her after hours at a religious youth group while her friends indulge in drugs and hedonism. When Gomez discussed her career with THR, she remembered her mother encouraging her to work with Korine. She herself also told the filmmaker she really wanted “to do a cool project.” While she’s thankful for the experience in Spring Breakers, she looks back on it knowing she was perhaps ignorant in some respects. As she also said when asked if the decision sent shockwaves among her reps and Disney fans:
I’m sure but everything I do is going to be picked apart. Vanessa Hudgens, who was also on Disney Channel, was in it, too. And I remember I thought I was so mature. I’m sure I sounded like I was 12. I was like, ‘Well, technically the movie is rated R, so [my young fans] are not allowed to see it, so they won’t see it.’ And Vanessa’s like, ‘Ohh-kay …’ I was so naive.
Vanessa Hudgens is four years older than Selena Gomez and, years ago, she'd been a few years removed from her Disney Channel days when she also signed on for Spring Breakers. Surely, both actresses wanted the same thing out of the project – to be seen as more than the stars of a House of Mouse property. Yet, as the Monte Carlo alum shared, she didn’t fully wrap her head around how the movie would reach her young fans, too. That is understandable, as ignorance does come with youth, right?
More recently, Selena Gomez referred to her turn in the film as a “crazy detour” for her career. It was from that experience that she realized she liked “filmmakers and really gritty, fun stuff that was a little too graphic.” That being said, that doesn’t mean Disney Channel wasn’t the right path for her either. As she continued:
For me, there was never any issue with Disney. I mean, I understand the intensity of the work and everything, and you’re young, but my experience was really lovely. I just had to separate myself for a while, and I was eager to because I’d done so much of it that I was a little tired.
Being a Disney Channel star has created some roadblocks for Selena Gomez to have the kind of career she wants over the years, particularly because she is so famous. As she’s said before, she has gone to auditions without using her real name in the hopes that casting directors will see her for her talent before writing her off.
In recent years, between becoming a billionaire, the 32-year-old actress and mogul has been able to really establish herself further as an actress who can do a number of projects, from The Only Murders In The Building and her upcoming role in the Linda Ronstadt biopic. All the while, she also went back to her Disney roots for the Wizards of Waverly Place revival. It's fair to say that she's seamlessly merged her sensibilities for roles and is now far from the "naive" young performer she believes she once was.
Check out Selena Gomez's latest film, Emilia Perez, using a Netflix subscription now. And, for those who are younger (or young at heart), you can stream Wizards Beyond Waverly Place using a Disney+ subscription now.
