Selena Gomez Chats Her First Emmy Acting Nomination & Why ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4 Will Be Her “Favorite.”

Selena Gomez Chats Her First Emmy Acting Nomination & Why ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4 Will Be Her “Favorite.” 

"Selena Gomez is, in her own words, having the best year of her life. Not only did she win the best actress award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Emilia Pérez, but she also scored her first Emmy acting nomination for her role in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.

“Acting has, and will always be, my heart,” she tells THR. “There’s so much that I want to do and that I haven’t even scratched the surface of, and it’s exciting to me.”

In this interview, Gomez speaks candidly about her character Mabel’s evolution over the show’s three seasons, working with Meryl Streep, and what’s to come in season four.

This is your first Emmy acting nomination, for a show in its third season. Congratulations! How did you celebrate with your co-stars?

I received flowers from [Martin Short and Steve Martin]. I’m in L.A., Marty’s always all over the world, and Steve is in New York. So, obviously, we can’t be together, but we’ll celebrate when we get back together again. But it was crazy. I was just honored to be on such a show that was recognized. I feel so lucky, because there are so many great shows, and to even be considered, to have an opportunity like this, is such an honor. In my mind, I feel like I already won.

The show is so contained given its premise of only murders in the building, yet it’s fresh every

season. How do you and the rest of the crew make sure it doesn’t become repetitive?

I’m going to give the writers full credit, because they shock me. I’m a realist, so of course, in my mind, I think, “How many people could possibly be at our building and this happens?” And every time they lay out the storyline for me, they point out key arcs that each of our characters are going to go through. I’ve noticed that with my character, they’ve really allowed her to grow. She, I think, felt a bit more lost, and this season in particular, she’s very much in control of [herself] and the situation. So it makes me feel very proud to grow with the show. Our creator, John Hoffman, always has these fresh ideas, and we’ll flesh them out together. If there are certain things that I don’t feel are right, I can easily voice them, and we all make it work together. I ask Steve and Marty for advice all the time on certain lines, and “Could I make it funnier this way?” It’s a big family, and I’m just happy we’re still here.

Your character, Mabel, undergoes a very big change this season. Was your preparation different from previous seasons?

The whole process was different because we had so many different facets to this season, in particular with having all the guest stars that we did, which was so much fun, and I can’t even begin to tell you how hard I laughed. We used to shoot everything in order, and that would help me a lot, but because we had so many different things that were happening, and we wanted to make sure everybody was comfortable and we could adjust to people’s schedules, it jumped all over the place [this season], and I found that a bit more worrisome for me, not because of anyone else. I just was like, “Where am I at this point? Am I on episode seven, or are we back at four just to do reshoots?” That was the only tough part. Other than that, it was a blast. I’m glad it was different. 

Tell me about working with Meryl Streep and your favorite scene with her.

She was so excited, and when she came on set, she told everybody that she loves the show, and I don’t even think I spoke the first day she was around, I was just admiring her. She’s an inspiration, and she’s someone who is incredibly talented while being very humble, and professional and kind. I’ve learned so much from her just by her being Meryl. My favorite moment was watching Meryl sing onstage. That was chilling, and she would do it a cappella, live every time, and I cried. I wasn’t in the scene, but I was there sitting in the audience, and I was completely moved and was brought to tears. Just the way she commits to her craft in every way is remarkable. It was beautiful.

You also sing and dance in this season.

I tried to get away with not doing it, but they really wanted a little thing. I just didn’t feel like it was my character. I don’t think it would have made sense unless it was done in a very sarcastic, unprofessional way, for humor reasons, but in my heart, it just didn’t feel like that’s what Mabel would be caring about. I thought it was cute. I loved doing the number. But, yeah, I’m glad that I didn’t have to do a lot of that part of my life, which I already do enough of. Don’t get me wrong, I was like, I might wear this [jazz outfit] to dinner with some cute heels! I thought it was such a look.

What can we expect for season four?

I think this is our most exciting season yet. That’s what I would definitely say with confidence, because it was far too fun. How it came together was so magical. Everyone had a blast. And people are in for a ride, you know. Taking us to L.A. and then doing all the other stuff is exciting. It’s going to be, to date, probably my favorite season. 

You also recently won the best actress award in Cannes for Emilia Pérez, which is your first time acting in Spanish. 

Yeah! It was incredible. And Jacques [Audiard], the director, was so wonderful. Because I had auditioned for this part, and I worked on my Spanish with a coach, and I probably spent half a year trying my hardest to really go after this. And even in the audition, I had messed up a few of the lines. Jacques actually was really great, and he said, “I think that we should make her Mexican American.” And we all talked about it as a cast, because people have opinions, and Latinx [identity] in America is very similar to what my character is portraying, which is [speaking] English and Spanish at the same time. We were able to build the character, Jessi, around my ability, and I was so grateful for that. It allowed me to not only focus on just making sure I was speaking Spanish — I could be a little bit more free and focus on my performance. But it was probably the best experience that I’ve had on a set since Spring Breakers. I’ve been very lucky to be in great projects, but those two have a special place in my heart, because it was something I was afraid to do. It was something I wanted to challenge myself [with]. I couldn’t be more excited about this project, and I was more than shocked over the reception, because none of us had seen the film until we were at the festival. Clearly, we were in great hands with Jacques. I never doubted it. I’m blown away at the reception, and rightfully so. The women in this movie are fantastic. 

This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe."  - Hollywoodreporter.com