Selena Gomez Recalls 'Crazy' Audition for Emilia Pérez: 'I Blacked Out Dancing Like a Mad Woman'
Selena Gomez has said she truly went crazy with the audition for her upcoming role as Jessi Del Monte, wife of a cartel leader, in Emilia Pérez. At the Los Angeles premiere of the film on October 21, Gomez told The Hollywood Reporter how director Jacques Audiard pushed her to get wild.
"I didn't know what he wanted," Gomez, 32, recalled. Audiard told her to "'Act drunk, throw your shoes… just go crazy.'" Gomez did: A musical number featuring her character ranting against her husband's new life as a trans woman-to-be played by Karla Sofía Gascón.
Gomez recalls the intensity of the scene: "I was on furniture, singing my guts out, dancing like a lunatic — I guess a drunk lunatic. Blacked out. It was a really crazy experience." She went on to book the role, an emotional win for the Only Murders in the Building star.
The film won both the Jury Prize and Best Actress for the group of female players in Emilia Pérez, which launches on Netflix on November 13. A first in history for Gascón, who was the first openly trans actor to receive a major award in Cannes.
Starring opposite Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez, the movie tells of a cartel leader's own journey to real life as a trans woman, with original songs by French pop star Camille. As for whether she had provided cast member vocal coaching, Gomez is characteristically self-effacing: "They didn't need it. Did you see Zoe? That girl doesn't need any tips. If anything, I need the tips."
While Gomez seems keen on the reception of her film, she is rather modest when questioned about award prospects, musing, "I'm just so happy that people are receiving it the way they are.".
