Cara Delevingne: 'Only Murders in the Building' romance with pal Selena Gomez 'means a lot'

From friendship to onscreen romance: Cara Delevingne joins the sophomore season of “Only Murders in the Building” (streaming weekly on Hulu) as a love interest for Mabel Mora, portrayed by the model’s close pal Selena Gomez.

The 29-year-olds met in 2010, when Delevingne, a fan of "Only Murders," modeled in the first photo shoot for Gomez’s youthful clothing brand Dream Out Loud in Budapest, Hungary.

“We met on the side of a green, grassy hill running around in our clothing,” Delevingne remembers. “We got on very well, straightaway, and were bonding over music. We were just so young then. It's crazy. It was just very funny to be sitting and laughing about the fact that we have dogs, and we're so old now – not really old, but we've just come so far.”

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Delevingne’s Alice is a mysterious artist who reaches out to Mabel about her artist collective. Like any character, she’s a potential suspect in the murder of Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell), president of the board of The Arconia, the New York City co-op apartment building where friends and true-crime podcasters Mabel, Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) live.

In the first season finale, viewers learned Charles' girlfriend Jan (Amy Ryan) killed Tim Kono (Julian Cihi). But a new mystery began when Mabel discovered Bunny in her apartment with a knitting needle plunged through her chest. Mabel, Charles and Oliver are labeled persons of interest in the Season 2 premiere, so they're motivated to solve Bunny's murder to clear their names.

Alice “has a couple of secrets,” Delevingne says. “She has a bit of a mask on. She's completely intrigued and consumed by her fascination with Mabel, and just trying to see if she could help her come out of her shell.”

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Working with Delevingne was a highlight for Gomez.

“Just imagine getting to work with one of your best friends,” she says. “It's a really, really fun experience, and on top of it, she was fantastic in the show.”

Delevingne says she and Gomez “became like mini-Steve and Marty,” a comparison Martin agrees with.

“You were like two kids coming together, who hadn't seen each other for a (long time),” he tells Gomez.

Their friendship made intimate scenes more relaxed, Gomez says. “If anything, I felt more comfortable because it was someone that I knew, and I love her very much.”

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Playing a queer character is an opportunity Delevingne, who identifies as pansexual,  cherishes.

“I loved how it's portrayed because a lot of the times with queer characters it takes such a spotlight instead of just being part of the whole story. It's done so well and so beautifully,” she says. “I was so grateful, because it means a lot to me to represent the community in such a fun way. And for Selena to do that as well, it just means a lot.”

Gomez says "it means the world to me” to be part of this storyline. “It's really wonderful that we were able to organically take this character into a whole new season of her life. I thought it was beautiful and really well written, and I'm very excited.”

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Delevingne isn’t the show’s only famous fan. Gomez says, “I know Taylor (Swift) really loved it.” And Short says director Steven Spielberg visited the set in New York.

“He is a big fan of the show, and he's also our friend,” Short says.

Martin adds, “The crew was extremely excited to have Steven Spielberg on the set.”

During the legendary director’s visit, Gomez remembers “just geeking out. ... I get a little bit starstruck with the people I respect,” she says. “There's a bit of that feeling where you're excited to be in their presence and you hope they're wonderful.”

Who's Spielberg’s favorite character? Oliver, Short quickly replies, explaining playfully: “He's just a sucker for quality, I guess.”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Selena Gomez, Cara Delevingne on Only Murders in the Building romance