Selena Gomez returned to her roots for her spectacular role in Emilia Perez.
While the 32-year-old actress and singer grew up speaking Spanish with her family in Texas, she opened up on NPR’s Fresh Air about losing her fluency after moving to California to pursue a career as an entertainer.
“I got my first job when I was 7 and most of my jobs since then have been in English,” she said. “And I just lost [my Spanish]. That’s kind of the case for a lot of people, especially Mexican Americans.”
Gomez plays the wife of a cartel leader in the critically-acclaimed Netflix film, and the star says she took nearly six months of language classes in preparation.
Selena Gomez at the premiere of the Netflix series ‘Emilia Pérez’ in Los Angeles.
Amy Sussman/Getty
“I wish I knew a lot more than I do. But I think that’s why I try to respect my culture as much as possible — from releasing an album in Spanish to wanting to continue with this movie,” Gomez, who won the Oscar buzz, said . “And I don’t think it will be the last I do in Spanish.”
Selena Gomez Recalls ‘Dancing Like a Crazy Woman’ in ‘Crazy’ Emilia Perez Audition: ‘I Black Out’
Although she achieved huge success as a pop star during her career, singing in Emilia Perez was an “emotional” experience that reignited Gomez’s passion for music.
“It was one of the most emotional songs I recorded during the process of making this movie. And I remember just singing it and thinking to myself, This could have been my song,” she said of “Mi Camino.”
“And this could have been the song on the album that I would have released personally because it’s so well said and it feels very true to who I am, where I’m at,” she continued.
Last month, Gomez said The Hollywood Reporter she auditioned for the film with the character’s biggest scene: the musical score, “Bienvenida,” during which she vents her frustrations with the titular Emilia Pérez (played by Spanish star Karla Sofía Gascón).
“I did it once, and [director Jacques Audiard] was like, ‘Go crazy’. And I totally agreed to that. I was standing on the furniture and I passed out, but I was just singing my heart out and dancing like a mad woman — I guess a drunk mad woman — and it was a very crazy experience,” Gomez said.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education