Off the Cuff: Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short Talk Favorite Roles, Worst Auditions, and ‘Demure Autumn’

And we're out. Okay.

Hi, Vogue. I'm Selena Gomez.

And I'm Steve Martin.

And I'm Martin Short.

And this is Off the Cuff.

What a delivery. Thanks.

[Steve] Wow.

All right, round one, ice breaker.

What was your first impression of me?

My first impression of you?

Before we met? Before we met.

I just thought that you were this phenomenally talented,

ridiculously beautiful, very gifted artist.

Thank you. [Selena laughs]

[Steve] But- Oh.

I've said this before,

on my way to the first day of shooting, I thought,

But she could be a nightmare because she's a pop princess

and she's been a star since she was a kid.

And then I met you and my heart burst.

I knew right away that- You are a poet.

Wow, that's very sweet. You really are.

Thank you. Not a good poet.

No, no, not a good poet.

How about you?

I had heard of Selena Gomez and appreciated,

but I didn't really know,

so I thought, I'm going to Google her.

And then I said,

But first I'm going to look up my credits.

So I look up my credits and they're like this long,

and then I look up Selena's

and it's like page after page after page.

And really, she's more of a professional than both of us.

Oh. I have a question

for Selena. Ooh.

What was the first concert you attended?

That would be Britney Spears.

[Martin] Wow. Ooh.

[Martin] How old were you?

I think I was 11.

How about you, Steve?

What was the first concert you ever went to?

Greek Theater to see Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

[Martin] Wow. And my girlfriend, Nina,

was a dancer in the show.

I am whispering to the people next to me going,

My girlfriend's a dancer.

Oh, that's so cute.

Now I have a question.

What's your first stop when you arrive in New York City?

I know the bathroom for you.

And what else?

I just love being on set.

When I'm in New York,

I love getting cozy in my apartment and then being on set.

I don't know.

I mean, the first thing I do is

my tradition is to take a full sponge bath.

Oh. A what?

Sponge bath. Sponge bath.

Yeah.

Does someone administer to or you meet someone?

I meet someone and I say,

Are you into sponge baths the way I am?

[Steve] Yeah. Round two.

Okay. Personal questions.

Oh, round two.

Alright, guys.

Favorite character you've ever played,

aside from Only Murders?

Hmm.

I'll raise my hand while you're thinking.

Roxanne. C.D. Bales.

Oh. Oh.

It was like a fun character to play.

It was alive and kicking, had a lot of energy.

Had a big nose.

[Selena] Wasn't Cheaper by the Dozen?

Listen, I've played so many characters

and I suppose they're all my children.

[Selena and Steve laugh]

So I love them all.

That's not a good answer.

Oh. I would have to say

that your favorite character is the most extreme,

and the one that to me is the most extreme

is the parody of Wizard of Oz guy bouncing off the fence.

Dale O'Day.

I've never seen that. What is it?

Dale O'Day. Dale O'Day.

[both laugh]

Oh, now I feel left out.

Worst or most memorable audition experience?

Ooh.

Well, I was auditioning for a commercial

for Tang, the orange drink.

And I walked in, and there were eight guys there,

and they all looked exactly like me.

So I had an 8 by 10 and as a joke,

I took a Sharpie and drew a mustache

and a goatee on my 8 by 10.

And then I went into the bathroom

and drew a mustache and goatee in my own face.

And I walked in and they just looked at me and went,

Yeah, have you read the copy?

Completely bummed, I had to go, Yeah, not really.

[Selena] Oh, you're like, About that.

Oh yeah, it was a failure. Didn't get it.

For me, it was probably,

I don't remember what I was auditioning for at the time,

but I had turned beet red because I was so nervous

and I was sweating.

How old?

Probably 21.

[Steve] Oh, oh my God.

It was like a big deal and,

oh, I just, it was- Did you get it?

Well, no.

[Selena] Hey, fellow castmates. Hi.

Was there a role you wish you got to play?

Selena?

No, I think there are genres and movies that I love,

but I think a part of why I love them is

that they do have the right cast for it.

Well, no, no, there are roles that you would be right for,

like, for example, Throw Mamma from the Train,

the role of Anne Ramsey, the mother.

Edward, you know, and she's upside down.

I don't know, I think you have range.

Selena has no idea what you're talking about.

It's the movie- By the way-

Before her time. Nor does America.

Yeah. Yeah.

You have to update your references by 15 years, say.

Oh, I have a good one for you guys.

What's the greatest misconception

about being a comedic actor?

Well, it's changed.

You know, when you start out being a comedian,

you're expected to be funny all the time.

When you go into a room, you're expected to be funny.

But my act was so extreme that I couldn't be,

people would've hated me if I was like that.

They hated you anyway.

Yeah, they hated me anyway.

But also, I mean, now,

you know, I feel like we are,

you know, funny on and off screen.

I think the greatest misconception is when people say,

you'll just come out and you'll do five minutes.

Right.

Five minutes? Yeah.

That takes like two months.

And experience and trying it out

and writing and throwing stuff out.

Eh, just do it in five minutes. It'll be fine, it's easy.

Well, I think comedic actors are interesting combinations

because to make it interesting, it has to be real.

But then you have to find out what's funny about it.

So I think but the main core is making it real.

Round three.

Oh.

Selena.

Oh dear.

Do you have a favorite Mabel look

from any season of OMITB?

You know, and this one is probably

not what people would expect,

but I wore this orange jumpsuit in season one

when you were using the locks to get in.

And I thought that was such a cool look.

It felt very effortless.

To me, your entrance on episode one-

Right. Yes. Absolutely.

Walking down the street is an iconic moment.

I mean, you're going to see that in your,

you know, histories.

That's going to be the first- Dua Lipa song,

and I love that one guy says, Where are you going, girl?

[Selena laughs]

He said, Where are you going looking so tough?

That's it, that's it. Yes.

[Selena] I have a question. Okay.

For Steve.

What was the most challenging scene to film this season?

This season? It's a trick question

because you never pulled one off.

Yeah. But if you had to decide.

If you say this season,

you mean season four? What would you say

was the most challenging scene to film this season four?

Well, there is a shot that you are in too,

and that made it doubly hard,

where we're climbing on ledges.

That's right. Ledges.

That's like acting with dinosaurs and green screen,

you know, so you have to pretend that you're, you know,

200 feet up in the air and yeah, I'd call it that.

I'd go with that.

What do you enjoy the most about playing Oliver?

I love playing Oliver's narcissism.

[Selena laughs]

I love his attempts at being hip when he calls Steve bruh.

Dude.

Nothing is funnier than a 74-year-old trying to be hip.

All right.

It is the lightning round. Oh, I love lightning round.

I love the lightning round. Oh, that's so much fun.

Okay. Oh dear. Yeah.

Brat summer or demure autumn?

Demure autumn.

I'd have to go with demure autumn.

[Selena] Yeah. Y'all don't know-

I don't really know- What any of this means.

What either of them means.

Yeah, it's okay. I'll teach you later.

[Steve] I'm going with demure.

Selena.

[Selena] Go. Left or right?

Ask me that. We'll get to it-

[Steve] Okay, go ahead. When Selena answers.

[Steve] Okay, go ahead. Needy.

Right. Left or right?

Right. Left or right?

Right. Wow, that was interesting.

Overdressed or underdressed?

Underdressed. Underdressed.

Voice note or text message?

Voice note. Well, yeah,

but you also, yeah. No, I do both,

but I like hearing someone's voice.

Morning or night?

Morning. Morning.

Night.

Podcasts or audio books?

Podcasts. Podcasts.

New York or LA?

Oh. That's hard.

That's a tougher. Hard.

That's really tough. New York because,

you know, that's where my family, my child goes to school.

I've lived here for too long. LA.

You have your- I have my family.

Sponge baths there. That's true.

Yeah. What?

I have my family here, so LA.

Yeah, yeah. Right.

Favorite song to listen to?

As of a now, probably...

Can we include our own?

I've been recently been listening to the song Fish Heads.

Do you know the song Fish Heads.

♪ Fish heads, fish heads ♪

♪ Rolly Polly fish heads ♪

♪ Fish heads, fish heads ♪

♪ Eat them up, yum ♪

[Steve laughs]

Did you have- No, the reason

I've been listening to- No, no, no,

but let me ask you something

because I think it answers the question we all have.

Did you have a head injury this morning?

[everyone laughs]

Favorite age time in your life?

Now for me. I'd say now, now.

For me, the whole journey.

Favorite time of the year.

Fall.

Christmas.

I'd call it.

We're out of time. Thank you so much.

Sorry, Vogue. We love you.

I don't care what time of the year it is,

as long as it's 73 degrees.

I feel like I learn something new about you guys

every day and it's not, you know, always like the best.

[Steve laughs] No, it is.

I have learned stuff about Steve that I have gone

to a hypnotist later to try to forget

to take out of my system.

I try not to learn from anybody.

Oh, I know. Yeah.

Well, thank you guys for watching.

This has been Off the Cuff.

And we'll see you next time.

[upbeat jazz music]