Portraying Selena Quintanilla is no joke. This is exactly what Christian Serratos has discovered while playing the iconic singer in Netflix’s Selena: The Series.
On a recent interview, the 30-year-old actress talked about the pressures of portraying the late singer.
She revealed, “I felt so much pressure to be and bring Selena back to the screen. I know what an important role this is and I know how important it is for all her fans and her family, so I definitely worked really hard to try and be as honestly Selena as I could.”
Long before officially landing the role, the actress has prepared for it by working with a dialect coach and a singing coach. She explained, “I had never had this much responsibility before, and I just wanted to use every resource that I could. So I started working with a dialect coach on my own before I had the job, which I think was really helpful. I started working with my singing coach, who I love so much, Eric Vitro, before I booked the job, and he also helped me with the audition.”
Serratos also dished on the most challenging scenes she had to do in the series. She said that the performance sequences are very challenging because she has to put herself in the shoes of Selena. She shared, “I feel like those are the moments where they’re gonna say like, ‘Come through! Show up as Selena, let’s go!’ Those are the moments that are most fun but also I know are gonna be the most work, because I have to do what the fans want, I have to be her. And that’s a lot of pressure.”
The actress noted that incredible impact the late singer had in her life. She mentioned that she looks up to Selena as a Mexican American role model and her accomplishments have inspired her. She also talked about how Jennifer Lopez has inspired her and that she’s honored to follow in her footsteps as an actress who portrays Selena as well.
Serratos hopes fans will like the series. She said, “I hope they see the hard work that we have put into it as a crew, and I hope they see the hard work that we have not gotten to see before from Selena. I hope they see that it started at such a young age and that you can make a choice at a very young age to do whatever you want to do and you can do it.”
