Selena Gomez Gets Real About Her Struggles With Her Acting Career

In addition to her successful career as a musician, Selena Gomez is also a well-known TV and movie actor. However, despite Gomez's wide range of on-screen work, she has just opened up about her acting career that may be shocking to her loyal fans.

If you were raised in the early 2000s, you probably grew up watching Selena Gomez on TV. The former Disney darling got her start on the popular children's show "Barney & Friends" in 2002 when she was 10 years old. Gomez remained on the show — which also featured Demi Lovato — for two years before exiting in 2004. Gomez went on to land a slew of acting roles in productions like "Spy Kids 3: Game Over," "Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire," and "House Broken." But Gomez's big break came when she scored the leading role as Alex Russo in the Disney Channel series "Wizards of Waverly Place."

And while it may seem like Gomez is completely confident in her theatrical abilities, she is currently starring alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short in Hulu's hit series "Only Murderers in the Building," she has just made a startling claim about her own acting skills.

Despite starring in films helmed by legendary directors like Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy "The Dead Don't Die" and Harmony Korine's crime film "Spring Breakers," Selena Gomez admitted that she struggled with her own confidence as a serious actor. During an appearance on The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" podcast, Gomez explained that she often "felt like a joke," when acting. "I felt like it was very difficult for people to take me seriously," Gomez said. "I have slowly pushed through that, and I'm really glad, but it was very frustrating. I felt like a joke, you know?"

Gomez has also expressed similar sentiments regarding her music career. In April 2021, she told Vogue that creating music had become a difficult process for her, because she didn't feel like she was being viewed as a serious artist. "I've had moments where I've been like, 'What's the point? Why do I keep doing this?'" she told the publication. Adding, "'Lose You to Love Me' I felt was the best song I've ever released, and for some people, it still wasn't enough." Fortunately for Gomez, her fans seem to disagree, as "Lose You To Love Me" was praised by critics for its lyrical honesty and shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart upon its release in 2019.