Selena Gomez says she 'signed' her life away to Disney as young star

Singeractor Selena Gomez is set to embark on her journey as an adult television actor for the first time since her days as an adolescent on Disney Channels Wizards of Waverly PlaceThe 29yearold singers latest role in the upcoming Hulu series Only Murders in the Building marks the first time shes acting in a TV show since Wizards of Waverly Place the hit Disney series she starred in from 2007 to 2012Asked about how the time off has changed her as an actor on Friday during the Only Murders In the Building Television Critics Association press panel with costars Steve Martin and Martin Short Gomez said that shes a much more sophisticated actor than she was when she first started in the businessI signed my life away to Disney at a very young age so I didnt know exactly what I was doing she jokedI was a kid I didnt know what I was doing I was just running around on set and now I feel like a sponge and I soak up all the wisdom that I can she addedThe Lose You to Love Me singer made her acting debut on PBS Barney amp Friends from 2002 to 2004 before she landed at Disney for a brief role in Hannah Montana from 2007 to 2008She was a series lead on Wizards of Waverly Place starring in the series alongside Jake T Austin David Henrie Jennifer Stone Maria CanalsBarrera and David DeLuiseHulus Only Murders In the Building finds Gomez playing a resident of an Upper West Side apartment building who teams up with two of her neighbours played by Martin and Short to discover the truth behind a neighbours sudden death Of her latest role in the comedic murdermystery Gomez told the press on Friday The level of sophistication of the material is the first reason why I wanted to do this Gomez added Its really nice to be back on TV and its nice to be cast as my actual age which never happensHer Only Murders In the Building costar Martin joked during the panel Im dying to be cast as my actual age instead of this damn 35Although this is Gomezs first return to television since Disney shes acted in several movies including Spring Breakers The Big Short Fundamentals of Caring and The Dead Dont DieShe also executive produced the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why as well as the Netflix docuseries Living Undocumented about undocumented people in the United States Most recently she premiered a new cooking show on HBO Max called Selena Chef which explored her skills in the kitchen while hunkered down at home during the coronavirus pandemicSpeaking to Vogue for its April cover story the singer admitted that after launching into fame as a child star on Disney Channel she worried about being typecastI still live with this haunting feeling that people still view me as this Disney girl she told the outlet earlier this yearGomez explained that starting her career early playing Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place made her feel like she needed to be perfectThat was my job in a wayto be perfect she said Youre considered a figure kids look up to and they take that seriously thereOnly Murders in the Building premieres on August 31 on HuluThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever