Selena Gomez’s Decision to Star in ‘The Fundamentals of Caring’ With Paul Rudd Was Inspired By THIS $13.7 Million Jennifer Lawrence Film
- Selena Gomez’s decision to star in The Fundamentals of Caring was inspired by a Jennifer Lawrence film, showcasing her transition from Disney roles to more mature characters.
- After three auditions, Selena secured the role of Dot, drawing inspiration from Jennifer Lawrence’s performance to tackle themes of grief, loss, and emotional complexity.
- Despite her success, Selena still feels haunted by her Disney image, but continues to build a versatile acting portfolio with recent projects like Only Murders in the Building.
Selena Gomez has come a long way from beginning her career as a child star, earning global acclaim for her singing and acting pursuits. While early on she usually took family and teen-oriented roles, an eventual transition into the mainstream happened soon enough.
2016’s The Fundamentals of Caring, also starring Paul Rudd and Craig Roberts, helped her shed the Disney Channel image and showcase her acting prowess.
Interestingly, being a part of that flick was not a clear-cut call. Falling outside her typical pursuits, the role demanded an inspection.
Thus, not only did Gomez have to put her skills to the test in an audition, she also had to do the same more than once. Hard to imagine for a star of her caliber, there lay one motivation that kept pushing her to clinch the part- a Jennifer Lawrence film.
Selena Gomez found Jennifer Lawrence as her inspiration for The Fundamentals of Caring
After three trials, Selena Gomez had herself cast in the role of Dot in The Fundamentals of Caring. In a plot full of dark humor and dry wit, the actress dove into portraying a straightforward and no-nonsense attitude character coping with grief and loss. As such, to take this big leap from her earlier usual roles of heart and liveliness, she sought inspiration and found it in Jennifer Lawrence.
In talks with Vanity Fair, the Grammy-nominated artist credited Lawrence’s performance in Winter’s Bone for inspiring and likely aiding her own performance in the Paul Rudd starrer.
I just loved how she put so much care into her character choices, and they were all different but had a bit of an edge and yet softness to it. So I felt there was something in this movie that was good and real.
Arriving in theaters in 2010, Winter’s Bone had Jennifer Lawrence play a teenager named Ree Dolly, in search of her missing father. The actress’ gritty realism on-camera led to a Best Actress Academy Award nomination and a $13.7 million box office.
Meanwhile, The Fundamentals of Caring saw Selena Gomez depict emotional resilience, deliver subtle expressions, and do justice to the mature plot with her character, something she might have built on from the said inspiration.
Selena Gomez has a “haunting feeling” about her Disney girl image
The Fundamentals of Caring only nicked the tip of an iceberg of ambitions that Selena Gomez has for her career. Aside from music, she has ventured deep into acting, currently at faraway lands from her child star image.
Playing the lead in the just-released crime-comedy, Emilia Perez, her performance won the Jury Prize at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, marking her transition into a versatile Hollywood actress. However, she has apprehensions.
In 2021 talks with Vogue, the star admitted,
I still live with this haunting feeling that people still view me as this Disney girl.
Regardless, she is en route to building a strong portfolio as a forefront celebrity. Gomez’s most recent projects feature Only Murders in the Building.
With four seasons so far, the series has her alongside the likes of Steve Martin and Meryl Streep, investigating crimes in their apartment. Thereafter, an untitled Linda Ronstadt biopic and flicks named Spiral and In the Shadow of the Mountain also lie on the cards.
The Fundamentals of Caring is available on Netflix, whereas Winter’s Bone is streaming on Prime Video.
