American singer and actress Selena Gomez has shared insights into her intense preparation for her role in the upcoming Spanish musical, Emilia Pérez, during a Q&A session at the Telluride Film Festival on Sunday.
Gomez, who plays the character Jessi Del Monte, disclosed that she took a huge break from her music career and other commitments to fully immerse herself in the role.
“I stopped working on my music and anything else, and solely focused on this [musical],” Gomez said. “Every day, I’d wake up and rehearse the lines over and over again. And I’d call in the middle of the night, my Spanish teacher.”
The 32-year-old artiste described her experience with singing in the film as “therapeutic,” noting the personal growth and emotional release it provided her.
The first trailer for Emilia Pérez, a Spanish-language French film, was released by Netflix on August 26. The film, which also stars Zoe Saldaña, is described as “an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations.”