THE INSIDER: NATURI NAUGHTON

First MTV, now Hollywood, next the world? This Fame star is ready to conquer it all.

If anyone knows about the fleeting nature of fame, it’s Naturi Naughton.

The New Jersey native walked out on her R&B group, 3LW, after the trio went platinum. But rather than fade into obscurity, she came back as a bona fide actress, playing Lil’ Kim in the biopic Notorious B.I.G. and now Denise in the remake of Fame.

We caught up with Naughton (who you might recognize from our Young Hollywood issue earlier this year) to hear what she really thinks of the business—and why she hates reality TV.

What was your initial reaction when you heard that Fame was being remade?

I knew of it, but I didn’t watch the original growing up—it was a little bit before my time. But when I heard that they were going to remake it, I just thought, well, let me re-watch the original. And then I was excited! It was such a classic movie with classic music, it was privilege to bring it to screen.

Is it harder to play a character that people are already familiar with, like Lil’ Kim or Denise?

It is a challenge when you’re playing characters, especially real life characters. I just approach it by doing as much research as I can, figure out new and innovative ways of making it my own, and just have a good time with it. If I shy away from it, it might not come off as genuine. Denise is totally different than anything that is done in the original than Irene Cara’s character—I just did what I thought she would do. It was just being this young, insecure teenager who doesn’t know who she is yet.

Was your high school experience anything like Fame?

I was actually more of a talker, and I was never shy—I knew what I wanted. She’s a classical pianist and she figures out that she wants to be a singer throughout her journey. So it’s just very different,

Fame is all about hardwork, talent, and dedication, but now you can get famous just by being on reality TV. As a performer, is that weird to you?

That’s one of those things that’s frustrating to me. I’m not against certain things, but for me, I prefer to have fame that is long lasting, and that shows that you have talent, rather than have fame for no apparent reason. I think it’s important for people to be famous for the right reasons, and show your talent.

What’s the hardest part of transitioning from singing to acting?

One thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that singing and being a performer requires some acting. Making a transition was not as difficult [as I thought], because I was very dramatic anyway, even if I didn’t know if it was technically acting.

You were a political science major in college. Do you see yourself moving into politics, say, 10 years from year?

Oh, I don’t know! I’m just into it and interested in law. Who knows where life will take you—I didn’t know I’d be in a hit movie like Fame!
REBECCA WILLA DAVIS



This story was published on September 29, 2009.