Selena Gomez recalls getting her first R-rated movie with revival show called Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.

Speaking in an interview with Vanity Fair, Gomez reflects on what it was like to be cast in Spring Breakers following her run on Wizards of Waverly Place.

The actor explains that she "was so eager after Disney to have a release." Taking the part in Spring Breakers was her mother's idea, after she and Gomez had watched director Harmony Korine's movies together. Thinking back to her time working on Spring Breakers, Gomez notes that her "character is very reflective of who [she] was back then." Check out the full quote from Gomez below:

This is probably, to date, still one of my favorite projects I was ever a part of. Believe it or not, it was my mom's idea. We watched Harmony's movies together and I was so eager after Disney to have a release. Nothing as drastic as I thought it would be. But I think my character is very reflective of who I was back then, which was stepping out of this era of always needing to make sure that I you know, hold my head up high, do things kids can watch. And just felt like a huge release.

Why Spring Breakers Was So Significant To Gomez's Career

Gomez Found Wide Success After Her Disney Role

Spring Breakers was the actor's first R-rated movie, and one she looks back on fondly as one of Gomez's "favorite projects." Its release also came right on the heels of the end of her time on Wizards of Waverly Place. Wizards season 4 concluded with an hour-long episode on January 6, 2012. Spring Breakers premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2012 and hit wide release in 2013. The proximity of Wizards of Waverly Place ending and Spring Breakers releasing was a massive shock to the system for those who were used to Gomez in her Disney era.

Spring Breakers was a particularly notable way for Gomez to break her Disney image given its subject. Gomez draws comparisons between her character and her life at the time. In the movie, she is a college girl finding herself going to extreme lengths to fund her spring break through committing crimes with her friends and falling in with a drug dealer. While acting in Spring Breakers was not nearly as extreme of a rebellion as her character Faith enacts in the film, it shares a similar sensibility of wanting to break the mold to craft a new version of oneself.

This commitment to divorce her film and television career from Wizards of Waverly Place has helped Gomez establish the ongoing successful acting career she has today.

Acting in Spring Breakers so soon after Wizards of Waverly Place is part of what likely helped Gomez break free from her Disney actor image. Following Spring Breakers, Gomez went on to have other film roles, including in Getaway, Rudderless, and The Big Short. She also leaned more heavily into her music career, showing a more mature side of herself there too. This commitment to divorce her film and television career from Wizards of Waverly Place has helped Gomez establish the ongoing successful acting career she has today.

Source: Vanity Fair