“We’re thrilled at the nominations, not only for us but for the show. We’re dismayed that Selena was not nominated because she’s so crucial to our performances, really,” Martin, 76, told The New York Times on Tuesday, July 12.
Despite the fact that the 29-year-old Monte Carlo actress’s character work went unrecognized, Short, 72, was eager to note that she is “nominated as an executive producer” for the Hulu series. Among Gomez’s achievements as a musician is the 2016 American Music Award for Artist of the Year, according to US Magazine.
The “Lose You to Love Me” singer claimed to have felt completely at home when filming season 1 of Only Murders, which premiered in August 2021, in a May 2022 interview with Emmy magazine. “I have to say I’m really lucky … it’s been wonderful. I feel like I’m a part of the group, I don’t feel like an outcast because I’m younger,” she told the outlet.
Martin joked that he had certain reservations about working with the Disney Channel alum. “Selena was an unknown. And she’s coming from pop culture, we don’t know if she’s a diva, we don’t know if she’s crazy. We don’t know anything about her,” he joked to Emmy magazine while promoting the show’s second season, which began streaming in June.
The Spring Breakers actress said she was “constantly” questioning the two comedy legends on set in an August 2021 interview with Glamour. “My questions always consisted of, ‘What were you doing when you were my age?’ I asked them about love, I asked them about their careers, I asked them about humor,” she told the outlet.
It turned out that the Three Amigos! actors had their own inquiries for Gomez. “They would always ask questions about pop culture. I think that was the biggest fascination,” the “Wolves” singer told Glamour. “If anything, it was like, ‘Why is this song popular?’ and ‘Are people listening to this still? Are they liking this?’ I would play them rap songs, and I would sing with them and dance. It was so much fun, it shouldn’t even have been working.”
Martin and Short don’t take their own critical praise too seriously, even though they wish Gomez had received an Emmy nomination. During their interview with The New York Times, the comedians—who are nominated in the same category—joked about competing with one another.
“I believe that the comedy acting category should be divided into two, for Overly Broad and Way Too Subtle. So, whatever the nominations are, you have subcategories. Marty could win Overly Broad, and I could win Way Too Subtle,” the Saturday Night Live alum said.
“You could be in your own category, which is Too Pale to Actually Light,” Short replied to his longtime friend. When asked if he’d ever been in direct competition with Martin before, the Innerspace actor quipped, “just emotionally,” while the Jerk star added, “every minute of every day.”