Beyonce: The Golden Grrrl in Goldmember

It also sounds as though it might have made Myers a friend for life. "His professionalism inspired me," she says. "When he dresses up as a character, he's so focused, he doesn't get out of character. I was amazed at how involved he is in every aspect of this movie--he wanted everything to be right, which is beautiful because a lot of people in this business don't want to work that hard."

It's well known that actors who have chemistry in real life don't necessarily have it on-screen. "You can't force chemistry," she says. "But I think Mike and I have it because even in our reading our timing was natural. When we were shooting, I'd notice little things, like the way he'd move his head or a certain rhythm to his speech and, in the next take, I'd pick up on it."

"They're a very good team," adds Lyons. "The surprise is that Beyoncé has a Lucille Ball quality to her."

"I just hope people like me in it," says Knowles. "I want to laugh watching it like everybody else. But I can't look at myself without going, 'Eeew.' I can't watch myself perform, except in videos, where it's so edited it's cool. I just hope I can watch the movie without cringing."

Knowles isn't the only singer in the film--Britney Spears is also making an appearance. "It's great that she's in it," says Knowles. "She plays herself in a scene with Mike, a dance-off that's supposed to be great. I can only imagine what that is! I really like and respect her. She works very hard. I've met her a couple of times and she's always a really nice girl."

With an MTV movie and a feature film on her resume, it sure would seem that Knowles is serious about an acting career. "I've always loved movies. When I was younger, I saw The Wiz starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, and that was so incredible to me. I don't know what I'd be good at in movies, really. I never thought I'd do a comedy and I've done that now. I'd like to do a big musical like Moulin Rouge, Lady Sings the Blues or Mahogany. I love the movies Barbra Streisand made. I don't want to play a good girl or someone who's nice. I want to be a baaad girl."

Will Knowles, like her idol, Diana Ross of the Supremes, eventually ditch the group that made her? "I'm very, very happy with Destiny's Child. I love the fact that we're the first female group to do a lot of things together and separately. Just yesterday, I saw Michelle perform gospel at a church. I cried, I was so proud of her. You notice how guys who are in groups can go off and do solo things without the group splitting up? Well, we can do that, too."

Is that why Knowles has decided to make a solo album? "I'm in the position right now of being able to do whatever I want," she says with caution. It's the first time during the interview that she's squirming. "I've paid my dues the last four years. I've written a lot of really great songs. I'm blessed. I think people respect me now. The label trusts me and now that they've said, 'Do whatever you want,' it's a good thing, but it's a lot of pressure."

Certainly there is a tremendous amount of pressure on Knowles, and to make matters worse, there's no love interest to help her laugh it off. Although her name occasionally gets linked romantically with other star names like Mos Def ("Just a friend," she assures), it's been several years since she's had a boyfriend. The last was a hometown guy from Houston, Texas, with whom she shared her first kiss at age 13 in front of a Jack in the Box. "It wasn't all that," she says, laughing, about the encounter. "But all my friends had kissed someone except me."

Despite her breakneck schedule and the constant presence of bodyguards, she says she is ready again for a major relationship. "The more success you have, the more you need an escape," she says. "You need something that doesn't have anything to do with work. When you work so much and don't have someone in your life, you get bored. Right now, I'm at that point. Maybe I don't have a boyfriend because it's just not the right time. I know God has a reason."

Often women as famous as Beyoncé have difficulty finding a mate on their level. "If a guy is interested in the image, he's there for the wrong reason," she says. "Once guys meet me they're stunned because they can't believe how normal I am. People, and not just guys, expect me to be a diva and to be someone who's really into my clothes, my hair. I couldn't care less. I would literally sleep in my makeup rather than go through that all the time. But when some people find out I'm just a human being, I guess that disappoints them."

It must be intimidating for a regular person to date someone like Knowles. After all, how many 20-year-old men are on her level financially? "I can see that. Like, what can you get a celebrity that they can't get for themselves? But celebrities don't want anything material. They want friendship. They want someone they can laugh with. That's what I'm looking for. So, a guy shouldn't feel that he's useless if he can't buy me things. I'm not the girl I play in the videos."

Not even a little bit? "I don't want to end up like most people in show business, caught up in trying to be successful. I don't want to be a huge star at any cost."

She pauses a moment, then says, "I'm scared. I'm happy that I've gotten to do this movie, happy I can make music I love. But I'm scared I'm not going to be able to walk down the street by myself. People don't believe me, but I like to go to the mall by myself. I don't like having security around. In fact, I hate it. I want a normal life."

Perhaps she's thinking of the singers before her who became famous, then flipped out and started doing odd things like getting too much plastic surgery, hibernating or perpetually throwing tantrums. "Yes," she says. "It's so easy to get caught up. Everything gets mixed up because it all goes so fast. I learned long ago that 'the business' is all fake. It's plain hype. Unfortunately, people look at us from head to toe, judge us and think we're not human. We are. And, really, nobody's a celebrity but God, anyway. If you don't have people telling you no, things can get twisted. I'm lucky I have my family because they always tell me the truth."

Unlike most young stars, Knowles sounds as if she has her safety shut-off button at the ready--if things get crazy, she will ditch the business. "I could walk away from all of this," she admits. "If I could still sing, say, in nightclubs or just somewhere, oh, yeah, I could walk away. And one of the things I plan to do is just that. I love Tina Turner's career. She'll retire and, one day when she feels like it, she might decide she wants to perform again. That's my goal. I don't want to get too caught up."

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