Selena Gomez addresses struggle to be taken seriously in film after Disney fame

Selena Gomez will next be seen in the Spanish-language French musical Emilia Perez, which is already being tipped for Oscar success, but she understands it's hard to be taken seriously.

Selena Gomez, the star of the upcoming Oscar-tipped musical Emilia Perez, has admitted that she understands why people might find it "hard" to take her acting seriously.

The American singer and actress first shot to fame as a child star on the Disney series Wizards Of Waverly Place, before earning critical acclaim for her role in the Disney+ series Only Murders In The Building, alongside comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short.

The 32 year old is set to appear next in Emilia Perez, a Spanish-language French musical. The plot follows a Mexican Cartel leader (played by Karla Sofia Gascon), who enlists the help of a high-powered lawyer named Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldana) to fake their own death and undergo sex-reassignment operations.

Gomez, who portrays the drug lord’s wife, Jessi Del Monte, attended the BFI London Film Festival gala screening of the film with her co-stars at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre in London. "I think that my taste in film and working with filmmakers has evolved, and I only want to stretch more in that area," Gomez shared with the PA news agency on the red carpet.

"I know it’s probably hard for people to take me seriously, I get why.

"But also at the same time, (director) Jacques Audiard saw something in me, and I then saw something in myself, and I am thrilled."

Gomez expressed her pride in being part of the Spanish-speaking project. "I loved speaking in Spanish, and it felt like I could connect to the character in a totally deeper, meaningful way," she said.

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"It means a lot that I can do that, especially given my culture, my background and my family."

Meanwhile, Avatar star Zoe Saldana has reflected on the energy present during the filming of their latest project, saying it was one of her favourite experiences. "It was palpable and it was exciting," she shared with enthusiasm while attending the premiere.

"Sometimes it was intense, but in the most passionate (of) ways, because at the end of the day, we were all coming with our hearts completely open and committed to just give the best of ourselves."

Saldana opened up about the cast's high hopes working with their "dream director" despite knowing the film was a "niche of a niche of a niche movie". She described it as a unique production: "It’s a film about four Hispanic women. It’s in Spanish, it's a musical with tones of opera," Saldana explained.

The actress had anticipated a special appeal for the film: "We knew that it was going to cater to all the accumulative followers of each of us, respectively."

What came as a surprise, though, was the warm and impressive response from audiences. "What we did not imagine was that it was going to have such a warm and impactful impression on people. " Saldana spoke highly of the positive reactions received at every festival, "the reception has been really beautiful and unimaginably incredible."

She found it deeply fulfilling, saying, "I feel like what is most rewarding in my heart is that people are going to get to see a story that they probably never would have thought about seeing otherwise."

The much-anticipated film, Emilia Perez, hits Netflix screens on November 13.

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