Selena Gomez Reveals Why She Wanted To Play Hannah Baker In '13 Reasons Why'

13 Reasons Why is considered Netflix’s most popular show ever and it all started with Selena Gomez. As many fans of the show know by now, Selena has been trying to make this project come alive for seven years. She reportedly fell in love with the book by Jay Asher and wanted to see it on a screen. While it’s not new news that Selena was originally going to play the main character Hannah Baker, what the world doesn’t know is WHY she actually wanted to take on this role.

Of course, she decided against it and Katherine Langford is absolutely nailing the performance. But, why did Selena want to play the part of Hannah before giving up that dream and executive producing the whole thing? Because she wanted a career change!

Stop. IT. Are you thinking what we are thinking? This seems like it means that at one point several years ago, Selena’s heart wasn’t into music like it is today. She was very television minded and we can’t even imagine what the musical world would be like today without her angelic voice.

Selena sat down with The Hollywood Reporter and said, “A book is frightening for me because I know the cult following it has, which is the reason why I didn’t want to be in it. Originally, my mom and I found the project because I wanted it to be a transition piece.”

What a bombshell! Selena continued, “I see myself in Hannah so much. Seven years ago I did and even more so today, which I think is funny because it’s backwards. The older I get the more insecure I get, which is odd. But that’s something a lot of people can relate to. Her personality is a quiet strength. I’ve never really been the one to be in anyone’s face. A lot of girls feel like they have to be a certain way for attention. Social media has amplified all of that. I get that she didn’t want that to be what her life was.”

As for a second season, Selena was coy. She said, “We don’t know what is going to go beyond it, but we know there are so many stories that lie beneath each character. That’s why it became a series in the first place. So we’ll see.”

Selena has totally been an open book lately when it comes to the movie, her life and what she is currently going through. The fact that she has let the world in on her little secret about making 13 Reasons Why a transition project for her is fascinating. Hopefully, she continues to give us more details like that about her involvement and her decision to back away from the acting role in this series.

Love J-14? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for fun, exclusive videos with your favorite stars.

OMGSelena Gomez Reveals Why She Originally Wanted to Play Hannah Baker in ’13 Reasons Why’