<P> One of the show's several working titles before becoming Wizards of Waverly Place was The Amazing O'Malleys, during which time its main character was originally going to be called Julia, named after creator Todd J. Greenwald's own daughter, and Brooke O'Malley . In the series' un-aired pilot, Julia was one of only two Russo children, alongside her brother Jordan . Julia and Jordan were originally intended to be twin sister and brother until Julia was re-written into the second - born of three Russo siblings . Greenwald explained that Jordan's name was first changed to Justin to avoid confusion with the Nickelodeon show Just Jordan, thus also changing Julia's name to Alex because he felt that it "wouldn't have been fair (to my son)". Greenwald ensured that each Russo sibling was provided with "their own strengths and weaknesses". Before being cast as the lead character Wizards of Waverly Place, Gomez's previous auditions for Disney Channel, who discovered the actress during a national talent search, had earned her recurring roles on the network's sitcoms The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana as Gwen and Mikayla, respectively . According to AllMusic biographer Matt Collar, these minor television roles eventually "paved the way for Gomez's own show". </P> <P> Alex was Gomez's first starring screen role . Being of Mexican and Italian descent herself, Gomez shares her ethnic background with her character, the only main cast member to hold this distinction . The writers originally kept the results of the series finale secret from the cast until they began filming the episode . Gomez originally felt that Max should be the ultimate winner of the Triwizard Cup instead of her own character . However, the actress was ultimately satisfied with the direction in which the writers ultimately went . Gomez and her on - screen siblings were each allowed to retain their characters' wands after the series' conclusion . In addition to starring in the series, Gomez contributed four original songs to the shows' official soundtrack album, including its theme song "Everything Is Not as It Seems". In addition to reprising her role as Alex in the television film The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex (2013), Gomez served as one of its executive producers . Stone described Gomez's approach to executive producing as "not really that different, she has a little bit more say in what happens...She has a great sense of humor about herself, so we give her tons of crap ." </P> <P> John M. Cunningham's of Encyclopædia Britannica described Alex as "a mischievous tomboy". The A.V. Club's Marah Eaken described as Alex as a "pretty dark" character who is "dry, lazy, and kind of a jerk, sometimes ." Describing Alex as "a wisecracking underachiever" keen on using her magical abilities to "smooth the path through high school", Plugged In's Paul Asay identified the character as "a Disney protagonist with a hint of rebellion--Cinderella with a yen for detention", demonstrated by her "slouching, too - cool - for - school vibe ." While under a truth spell, the character explains that her attitude is simply "a defense mechanism to hide my desire to really be liked ." Alex's personality strongly contrasts with that of her older brother, who unlike her is studious and hardworking . </P> <P> although a bit rude to others at times, is shown throughout the show to be a good person at heart . DVDizzy's Kelvin Cedeno writes that, "Alex is a character that could, and should, be off - putting in her narrow - mindedness and egotism . In spite of this, Selena Gomez manages to be likable and approachable in the role . </P>

Why is alex russo the most powerful wizard