Leaked Video Shows Selena Gomez’s Adorable First Disney Channel Audition When She Was Just 11

Selena Gomez has come a long way since her stint on the Disney Channel. Since leaving the mouse house, she’s become a globally recognized pop star, launched her own beauty brand, Rare Beauty, done a ton of philanthropic work, and, of course, continued her acting career. But unlike many of her peers, Gomez has never tried to distance herself from her Disney Channel past. Instead, she touts her time on Wizards of Waverly Place as one of the best times of her life.

How did Selena Gomez get into acting?

But just how did Gomez come to portray the iconic Alex Russo? The actor had to go through a series of auditions before she landed the part that made her famous. Gomez knew early on that she wanted to pursue a career in entertainment. A lover of both acting and singing, her first professional job was on the wildly popular kids’ show, Barney & Friends. Eventually, however, Gomez got too old for the show.

The ‘Wizards of Waverly Place’ star explained her dreams in a leaked Disney Channel audition

After her tenure on Barney & Friends, Gomez set her sights on the Disney Channel. She traveled from her hometown of Grand Prairie, Texas to bigger hubs like Dallas for auditions to pursue her dreams. In a leaked Disney Channel audition, the My Mind & Me star got candid with a casting director about her career aspirations.

“Well yeah, I’d go to college, but I’m trying to get into my singing career and my acting career,” the 11-year-old Gomez shared. “I have vocal lessons and stuff like that, but I want to do that when I get older. I want to do both, like Britney [Spears].” Continuing on, Gomez was asked about her familiarity with the Disney Channel and she cited Lizzie McGuire and That’s so Raven as two of her favorite shows.

Gomez manifested her show on the Disney Channel

“I love the Disney Channel,” Gomez shared in her audition. “I know everything. Me and my friend had glowsticks one day, and on the commercials, you can see where they had those little glowsticks, and they go, ‘I’m Raven from That’s So Raven, and you’re watching Disney Channel.’ And me and my friend like to play around. It’s like, ‘I’m Selena, [and] you’re watching Disney Channel.’ We like to draw it all the time.”

Following Gomez’s adorable audition, the casting director tells her that she may be closer to her dreams than she thinks. “Well you know what?” the casting director shared. “You might not be too far off you never know.” It was indeed true that Gomez’s dreams were in arm’s reach. But, they didn’t happen overnight. Following her first audition, she began getting more. This eventually lead to her having small roles on popular shows like The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. When she nailed those, she began getting recurring roles on shows like Hannah Montana.

Gomez shot another pilot before she portrayed Alex Russo

Eventually, Gomez nabbed a role in a pilot, Arwin!, which was a spinoff of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. In the series, she was set to play Arwin’s niece, Alexa. However, the pilot never got picked up by the Disney Channel. Eventually, however, Gomez was cast as Alexandra Margarita Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place and the rest, as they say, is history.