Beyoncé Was ‘Shaking’ With Nerves During First Acting Audition, Says Director

Before Beyoncé Knowles-Carter became a global music icon, she quietly began testing her acting talent as a teenager, eager to prove she could thrive beyond the stage. In the late 1990s, while Destiny’s Child was rising in fame, she auditioned for small roles, facing the same nerves and insecurities as any newcomer in Hollywood. Those early auditions, though often intimidating, laid the groundwork for her first credited role in 2001’s Carmen: A Hip Hopera, where she combined her musical roots with her growing passion for screen work. Recently, the director looked back at Beyoncé’s humble beginnings. Here’s what he said about her initial nervousness.

Director Robert Townsend reflected on Beyoncé’s first acting audition as a 19-year-old

Carmen: A Hip Hopera, directed by Robert Townsend, was a bold reimagining of the classic Bizet opera, released in 2001 as a made-for-TV film on MTV. The project stood out for blending traditional operatic storytelling with hip-hop and R&B, a move that was groundbreaking for its time. Beyoncé, then only 19, starred in the title role, showcasing her acting chops alongside her powerhouse vocals, while artists like Mos Def, Mekhi Phifer, and Wyclef Jean rounded out the cast. Townsend’s direction leaned into the energy of the early 2000s music scene, using rap battles and rhythmic dialogue to modernize a tragic love story. Though critics were divided on its execution, the film has since gained a cult following for its daring concept and for giving Beyoncé her first major acting role, proving she was capable of carrying a story on screen.

Townsend recently mentioned Beyoncé while speaking on Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe. Before she was cast, the 19-year-old flew to New York to audition for Townsend and hopefully secure the role.

“She’s with the head of A&R to make sure to protect her client,” Townsend recalled. “She’s got security with her.”

The director noted how he remembered Beyoncé’s nerves. “I can see she’s nervous, like, really nervous — shaking and everything,” he said. Then, Townsend had the other two people with Beyoncé read their lines. They showed their nerves, too.

“And then she was watching them get nervous,” he continued. “And then she got stronger. … So then I said, ‘Oh, there it is. Oh, there it is.’ And then she was like, ‘Can we do it again? Can we do it again? And can I do the death scene?’ I said, ‘Let’s do the death scene!'”

Beyoncé previously admitted that she spent her teenage years chasing her adult goals

Beyoncé is renowned for her exceptional stage presence. And she worked hard to develop her skills. In August 2021, she explained how she started competing in dance and singing competitions at age 7. By the time she was 10, she had recorded 50 to 60 songs in the studio.

“My teenage years were about the grind,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “I grew up hearing this particular scripture from James 2:17, ‘Faith without work is dead.’ Vision and intention weren’t enough; I had to put in the work. I committed to always being a student and always being open to growth. No one in my school knew that I could sing because I barely spoke. My energy went into Destiny’s Child and the dream of us getting a record deal and becoming musicians. If something wasn’t helping me reach my goal, I decided to invest no time in it. I didn’t feel like I had time to ‘kiki’ or hang out. I sacrificed a lot of things and ran from any possible distraction. I felt as a young Black woman that I couldn’t mess up.”

Tina Knowles said her daughter has no plans to continue acting in films

While Beyoncé fans love seeing her on the big screen, her mother, Tina Knowles, noted that Beyoncé has no plans to return to acting.

In March 2025, Tina posted a clip to Instagram of Beyoncé singing “I’d Rather Go Blind” from the film Cadillac Records.

“Repost: just came across this in my feed,” Tina captioned the post. “I listened to it several times. This is still one of my favorite movies and it makes me miss the fact that my child decided not to continue with movies. She killed it in this movie. And she so unselfishly donated her salary to the Phoenix house.”

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