Selena Gomezrecalls getting her first R-rated movie withSpring Breakers. Gomez began her career as a child actor, acting in projects such asBarney & FriendsandSpy Kids 3. When Gomez was 15, she had her breakout role playing Alex Russo on the hit Disney Channel seriesWizards of Waverly Place.Wizards of Waverly Placeran for four seasons from 2007 to 2012, and will now be getting arevival show calledWizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Speaking in an interview withVanity Fair, Gomez reflects on what it was like to be cast inSpring Breakersfollowing her run onWizards of Waverly Place.
The actor explains thatshe “was so eager after Disney to have a release.“Taking the part inSpring Breakerswas her mother’s idea, after she and Gomez had watched director Harmony Korine’s movies together. Thinking back to her time working onSpring 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 ensure 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 Breakerswasthe 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 onWizards of Waverly Place.Wizardsseason 4 concluded with an hour-long episode on June 25, 2025.Spring Breakerspremiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2012 and hit wide release in 2013. The proximity ofWizards of Waverly PlaceendingandSpring Breakersreleasing was a massive shock to the system for those who were used to Gomez in her Disney era.
Selena Gomez’s Return To 17-Year-Old Disney Show Officially Ties A Big Record With Her $1.3 Billion Movie Franchise
Selena Gomez’s Wizards of Waverly Place will set a big personal record for the actress that only her $1.3 billion movie franchise has done before.
Spring Breakerswas a particularly notable way forGomez to break her Disney imagegiven 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 inSpring Breakerswas 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 fromWizards of Waverly Placehas helped Gomez establish the ongoing successful acting career she has today.
Acting inSpring Breakersso soon afterWizards of WaverlyPlaceispart of what likely helped Gomez break free from her Disney actor image.FollowingSpring Breakers, Gomez went on to have other film roles, including inGetaway,Rudderless, andThe 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 fromWizards of Waverly Placehas helped Gomez establish the ongoing successful acting career she has today.
Spring Breakers
Cast
Spring Breakers centers on Brit (Ashley Benson), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Cotty (Rachel Korine), and Faith (Selena Gomez), four best friends who need money for a Spring Break vacation. To fast-track their funds, Brit, Candy, and Cotty commit armed robbery at a local restaurant and then leave for Florida with Brit. The four girls then become involved with Alien (James Franco), a drug dealer who claims to be from another planet.
