Selena Gomez has quite the resume. At age 30, the Texas native is a singer, songwriter, producer, philanthropist, brand ambassador, company founder, and more. Because of all of her success, it can be easy to forget that Gomez’s wildly-successful career started due to her love of acting. In fact, her first professional gig was back in 2002 when she appeared on Barney & Friends, a popular children’s TV show.
Selena Gomez has starred in a host of TV shows and movies
Of course, Barney was only the tip of the iceberg for Gomez’s acting career. Since then, she made a name for herself on the Disney Channel with the Emmy Award-winning show, Wizards of Waverly Place. She’s also done a host of movies like Monte Carlo, Spring Breakers, and The Dead Don’t Die. The “Lose You to Love Me” singer has also lent her voice to animated flicks like Hotel Transylvania.
The ‘Boyfriend’ singer didn’t feel like people were taking her seriously as an actor
But despite Gomez’s credits and her love for acting, she admits that it’s been hard for her to get the kind of roles that she wants. In an interview with Awards Chatter, the actor revealed that she has to grapple with people’s perceptions of her.
“I felt like it was very difficult for people to take me seriously,” Gomez explained. “Look, I’m not going to be one to be just like poor me or woe is me because I have slowly pushed through that, and I’m really glad, but it was very frustrating. I felt like a joke. There were moments where I felt like I was just like I don’t have what it takes to do this. I would get so frustrated with myself.”
‘Only Murders in the Building’ helped Gomez get back to her true love
However, in 2021, Gomez received a bit of a breakthrough in her acting career when she was cast in Only Murders in the Building. The show would give the Rare Beauty founder the opportunity to star in her first scripted TV series in nine years. It would also allow her to act opposite Steve Martin and Martin Short, who are considered veterans in the acting world. So how did Gomez manage to join the popular series and return to her first love of acting?
“I was trying to find something that I could do,” Gomez shared with Entertainment Weekly. “Because music was so much of my life for years. And I felt like I could take some time for my true love, which is, you know, film and TV. And this was just honestly a wonderful surprise. We got the material and responded right away, and I thought it was so cool. I definitely didn’t think it would do this well, but I’m really happy.”
Despite the success of the Hulu series, Gomez still isn’t fielding a ton of acting offers
But even after the success of the comedy series, which has been renewed for season 3, Gomez still isn’t fielding a ton of opportunities. However, the Rare artist doesn’t seem to be letting that get to her. She’s committed to continuing working on the craft that she loves and earning her next opportunity.
“But I gotta be honest, after I did Only Murders, I’m not getting a lot of demanding phone calls,” Gomez revealed to Awards Chatter. “But again, I am so grateful because everything that I’ve done, I’ve earned, and I’ve worked really hard for. And I would never replace that for the world. If everything was handed to me, I guarantee you I would be a totally different person. And I‘ve seen that happen in people, and that’s so disheartening. So if anything, it’s like okay, I’m getting there.”
