Robert Townsend knew Beyoncé had star power from the very beginning.
In a recent sit-down with Lena Waithe on Legacy Talk, the celebrated director reflected on casting a 19-year-old Beyoncé in MTV’s 2001 film Carmen: A Hip Hopera. The project gave her the lead role of Carmen Brown and marked her official acting debut before later stepping into major films like Dreamgirls and Obsessed.
“I didn’t know Beyoncé […] I knew of her and I was like, ‘Wow, she has a striking look.’ You know, she’s a beautiful, young girl, but I could see that she had something special. ’Cause [with] my director eyes, I go, ‘Something’s going on with her. She’s got something,’” Townsend shared.
Although Robert Townsend was certain Beyoncé was the right fit for Carmen Brown, the studio still required her to audition. Since it was her very first acting audition, nerves quickly set in.
“I could tell she was really nervous,” Townsend shared. “I have an arsenal when it comes to getting performance or making somebody comfortable.”
To help ease the pressure, Townsend pulled a clever trick—he included Beyoncé’s bodyguard and a label executive who came with her into the audition scene. The unexpected twist flipped the energy in the room.
“They started to sweat and really get nervous, and then she was watching them get nervous and she got stronger. I said, ‘Oh, there it is,’” he recalled.
That moment gave Beyoncé the confidence she needed, and her performance instantly leveled up.
“She was so excited and asked to repeat the scene a few more times and even requested to do the ‘death scene,’” Townsend revealed, referencing Carmen’s tragic ending.
Reflecting more than 20 years later, Townsend said he knew he had witnessed something rare.
“Watching her blossom into the superstar that she has become, I saw it in that room because there’s certain actors/actresses’ first audition, they wouldn’t go all the way there. She went all the way there,” he said.
