Digital News Writer, PEOPLE
Selena Gomez sees a connection between her acting past and present.
The Only Murders in the Building star compared her current character, Mabel, to the Disney mainstay that made her famous: Alex Russo from Wizards of Waverly Place.
“I feel like Mabel is an older version of Alex in a way,” Gomez, 29, told Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist podcast.
“I adored being on [Wizards of Waverly Place] so much,” she added. “I felt like I did learn a lot. We actually had great writers — we had two writers that were on Friends — and we had an incredible director that we used for most of our seasons.”
Gomez said she still spends time reflecting on the series. "We got really lucky. I still look back at that and laugh at certain things just because I thought it was so fun, and we tried."
Pre-teen Alex was known for being sarcastic. The show focused on her life as a young wizard in training, while diving into her social, family and love life, too. Mabel has a similar dry wit that Gomez personally identifies with.
The “Rare” singer spoke about what it’s like in Mabel’s shoes and how the character may be impacting her own personality — especially when she shoots improvisational scenes with Steve Martin and Martin Short.
"We would have these freedom takes where they would throw something at me," Gomez explained, "and my reaction was honestly what I think my character would do because half the time I'm like, 'I don't get what you're trying to do, but it works.'"
She continued, "She's rubbed off on me a little bit. I love being quick, and I kind of steal Steve and Marty's jokes every now and then. She's fun."
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New episodes of Only Murders in the Building stream Tuesdays on Hulu.
Selena Gomez Says Only Murders' Mabel Is an 'Older Version' of … – PEOPLE
