Martin Short shares that his early fears about working with Selena Gomez were quickly eased

Only Murders In The Building has been generally adored right out of the gate, and it’s no secret that its beloved, A-list talent is a key ingredient for the series’ success. Steve Martin and Martin Short have made their names over decades in film and comedy, while younger millennials and older zoomers grew up with Selena Gomez through her work on Disney Channel and her pop music.

In hindsight, the cross-generational collaboration is an obvious win in terms of not just storytelling but audience appeal. However, at an FYC event for the series at New York’s Metrograph Theater on Tuesday, Short admitted that he had some reservations the first time he met Gomez in person.

“Obviously, Selena… When I first heard her name, I thought, ‘Gee, what a fabulous approach to this, to have those three people,’” Short told moderator and showrunner John Robert Hoffman. “Then we did a Zoom reading, and then you felt 100% like this was going to be fantastic, because she was perfection. Then, on the first day of shooting, however, I had never met Selena in person. And I did wonder, as I was driving there, ‘You know, she could be a nightmare.’ I mean, she has all the ingredients—child star, I can’t even mention the names who it might be. [But] she looked up at me and we gave each other a hug, and I knew she was perfection for this role.”

Martin agreed with his co-star’s assessment. “We called each other afterwards, after the reading, and said, ‘Well that couldn’t have been better,’” he told the audience.

For her part, Gomez spoke about what she was able to learn from the elder comedians. “I think the whole point of creating characters, and wanting to dive into them, is the research behind the people who have come before me,” she shared. Gomez went on to laud the safe environment for experimenting that Short and Martin helped foster on set. “I didn’t realize what I was missing when I did start working with Steve and Marty, because the little things I worry about—insecurities, minor things—I found that wasn’t the objective. I think what I feel when I’m with Steve and Marty is that what is important is that we all are on the same page, and that we all want to create something great together,” Gomez said. “And, by the way, if I do a joke and it sucks, Marty’s like ‘That bombed, that wasn’t right.’ So I appreciate the honesty! But I also appreciate the freedom I can have by making mistakes or telling jokes that may not work, but I feel so good when I get one right, that’s for sure.”

Only Murders In The Building is streaming on Hulu.