Melissa Barrera reveals to Courteney Cox that competing in La Academia ‘destroyed’ her confidence

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask in Scream. The newly premiered iteration brought back the iconic roles of Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”), Courteney Cox (“Gale Weathers”), and David Arquette (“Dewey Riley”) alongside Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Marley Shelton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sonia Ammar.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Scream, Cox interviewed rising star Melissa Barrera for Interview magazine. During the conversation, the 31-year-old Mexican actress shared details about her beginnings, her role in Scream, and how competing in La Academia “destroyed” her confidence.

© Melissa Barrera

“I was 21 when I did the singing competition show La Academia, and then I started doing soaps for Mexican TV. I did four telenovelas, some theater, and a few movies before moving to L.A.,” Barrera said to Cox, who then asked Melissa to share something unknown.

“If I’ve read all of your interviews, what would I still not know about you?” Courteney Cox asked.

“I really, really hate singing in public,” she revealed. “I have trauma. That reality show that I did in Mexico destroyed my confidence. It was mostly the judges, like three Simon Cowells. Every concert, they would tell me that I couldn’t sing and that I was pitchy, and asked what I was doing there and told me I should just try modeling.”

According to Melissa, the comments started to get into her head. “In the beginning, I was like, ‘Motherf*ckers, I got into NYU, and it has one of the most coveted musical theater programs. I can f*cking sing.’ If you hear people saying something over and over, it gets to you. It’s an interesting social experiment because I started saying to myself, ‘Maybe they’re right, maybe I can’t sing.’ Then I would perform badly in the concerts,” the star said.

Cox told Melissa that her greatest revenge was starring in In the Heights.

Barrera also shared her experiences studying at NYU and living in New York City. “I love New York. It was an amazing place to study musical theatre because you’re in the epicenter of it all,” she assures. “It was nice to feel so close to what my ultimate dream was, which was booking something on Broadway. It just pushed me. The growth that happens in the first couple of years of college is insane. The person that went into NYU is not the same person who came out.”

Switching up with the interview dynamic, Melissa ask Cox “how it feels to be in two of the most successful things that have ever been made.,” referring to Scream and Courteney’s role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004.

“I’m just glad they made another Scream because the first one was so incredible and Matt and Tyler did such a good job bringing it back,” the 57-year-old actress said. “I never thought it would come back in a million years, and I love that I’ve done these two historical projects that have lasted such a long time. I don’t feel like a badass, but then again, I’ve only done one pilot that didn’t land.”