A few years ago, Selena Gomez was in a crossroads in her career.
Feeling like she was getting type-cast from her roles in Wizards of Waverly Place and other Disney ventures, she decided to take what some called her breakout role in Spring Breakers. And now the actress-turned-executive producer is ready to take it one step further with the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.
Speaking with The New York Times, Selena admitted she was highly motivated to do 13 Reasons Why to make work that really meant something to her, and will hopefully mean something to other people.
“I could do any tomboy/teen princess movie in the world if I wanted to. I could do those for years. But I want to be a part of projects that have value, that really matter. And it’s really hard to do that.”
And after going to what she called “the biggest high school in the world,” aka Disney Channel, she still feels that others aren’t ready to see her as a mature actress.
“Sometimes I feel defeated. I’ll audition for a part that I feel very passionate about, meet with people, tell them I’m willing to go places. I think they think I won’t go there. To be honest, I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon for me. I think I look really young and image-wise, it’s difficult for people to grasp. But early on, my mom taught me that sometimes you just have to create those projects for yourself. That’s what I want this to be: a launching pad.”
The reviews are still currently trickling in for 13 Reasons Why so it’s yet to be seen whether or not this is truly going to be the “launching pad” Selena hopes it will be.
But between this new project and her extremely mature photos for Vogue this month, we have a feeling she’s on the right track.
13 Reasons Why premieres on March 31 on Netflix.
Photo: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
