Pop star Kylie dreams of film roles, not U.S. success

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pop singer Kylie Minogue is not bothered that the music stardom she enjoys in Britain and Australia has eluded her in the United States but says she fantasizes about a credible film career.

Minogue, 40, who got her start more than 20 years ago as an actress in an Australian daytime soap, admits she has "definitely done the wrong things" when it comes to her limited movie career and would love to do more films.

In an interview to promote her first U.S. tour later in the year, the Grammy-winning singer said she dreams of a director crafting a role for her the way musician Nick Cave developed their 1996 alternative rock duet and music video for "Where The Wild Roses Grow," which was quite a contrast to her pop roots.

"(Cave) saw me in a totally different way, believed in me and had this idea and a vision for a number of years before he contacted me and we worked together and it was just absolutely perfect," Minogue told Reuters.

"My daytime fantasy is that there is a director somewhere who will be thinking that kind of way but putting it into the context of the film," she said. "I would love to do more movies. I really got waylaid and sidetracked. I started out as an actress and I thought that's what I would do."

Her first feature movie role was in "The Delinquents" in 1989, which was followed by a handful of roles, including 1994's "Street Fighter" with Jean-Claude Van Damme, 1996 comedy "Bio-Dome," and a small part in 2001 hit "Moulin Rouge!"

She also had a "dream come true" earlier this year when she worked with Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" composer AR Rahman by performing one of his songs in a Bollywood film.

Minogue's career also includes a lingerie line, perfumes, linen, and a children's book.

USA "AT ARMS LENGTH"

But it is music that shot Minogue to stardom in Britain, her native Australia, Europe and Asia, where she is simply known as Kylie, with 10 studio albums and a string of awards, including a 2004 Grammy for "Come Into My World."

While her U.S. success has been limited, Minogue says she is not concerned -- she is more frustrated by an assumption that her career is not complete without it. She is perhaps best known in America for her album "Fever," released in the United States in 2002, where it reached No. 3 on the charts.

"It doesn't frustrate me," she said. "It's frustrating being asked about it and the assumption that it's something really missing in my career and in my life. ...

"It just so happens that I live in London and my time is spent more throughout Europe and then there's the Asian connection through Australia but the USA has remained at arms length."

Minogue unveiled plans this week for her first North American tour, which starts in San Francisco on September 30 and takes her to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and New York, where a second show has been added after the first show sold out in less than an hour.

"I wanted to finally make it here for the fans that are here," she said. "They are not that great in numbers as far as the USA goes but they have been so loyal and patient."

Minogue also said she has also started working on her 11th studio album -- "very gingerly."

"(It will be) pop, dance, that's my thing," she said. "I'd love to find a slightly new style, something that's the next step for me. I kind of have an idea but I can't really tell you. I'm working on it."

ca.reuters.com