Being both an actress and a singer gives Selena Gomez the advantage of having a recognisable voice.
Yet when she took on the role of a 118-year-old vampire in 2012’s animated feature Hotel Transylvania, Gomez managed to give Dracula’s daughter a unique, well, voice. Gomez melded teen angst with grown-up outlook to make the vampire, Mavis, relatable.
This year, Gomez, 23, is resuming the role in the film’s sequel. But now Mavis is a wife and mum, which prompted Gomez to wonder if any of the character’s inflections would be different.
Luckily for Gomez, director Genndy Tartakovsky has kept the character’s youthful spirit. Tartakovsky shared in a transcript provided by Sony Pictures: “Mavis is actually kind of a hard character to play, to make her feel sincere and honest. Whenever you’re playing a younger person it’s easy to do normal pop-culture stuff, but Selena brings a genuine, very real quality to her, and it makes her feel very sincere and believable.
“Even when we write a silly line for her, Selena does such a great job of making it kind of truthful. She’s never embarrassed or shy about being honest about who Mavis is. And I think that really comes true.”
Hotel Transylvania 2 opens in cinemas nationwide on Sept 24.
