9 Strangest Film Casting Choices (That Actually Worked)

Though Jennifer Lopez is a household name today, she was relatively unknown for the first decade of her career. She got her big break as Fly Girl on In Living Color and had a smattering of television and supporting roles throughout the 1990s. She got her first chance at a leading role in Selena, the 1997 biopic of famed Latin artist Selena Quintanilla.

Any upcoming actress would consider this to be the casting of a lifetime and Lopez certainly celebrated it. But with such a meaty role came a wave of criticism. Selena had been revered as a pop star capable of breaking cultural and racial barriers and brought the tejano music style to a mainstream audience. Her fans around the globe were initially outraged that such an untested and inexperienced actress would be representing such an impactful musician.

But Lopez took their criticism to heart and did extensive research for the role, interviewing Selena's family, friends, and business associates to get as clear a picture as possible of the the singer's tragically short life. She incorporated this into her performance and received widespread praise from critics for her humanizing depiction of the star, proving her doubters wrong and inspiring her to launch her own music career.