When Cassie Ventura burst onto the scene in 2005 with her hit single, “Me & U,” she quickly became a teen favorite. But despite the fact that the Connecticut-bred beauty has performed before thousands of screaming fans, she admits that her first big screen role as Sophie in Disney’s Step Up 2: The Streets definitely took her out of her element.“It was a lot different [from shooting a video]. When it’s dialogue, there’s a lot more pressure just to be natural,” she says. “My music is my music, so it’s completely different.”

In the flick, Cassie’s character is a triple threat dancer, singer and actor who feels threatened by Andie (Briana Evigan), a new student who has captured the attention of her ex-boyfriend, Chase (Robert Hoffman).

Although the role wasn’t too far removed from Cassie’s real life, she says it was her character’s differences that drew her to the role. “I actually auditioned for another part, but when I sat down with [director] Jon Chu, I realized I wanted to play someone that wasn’t really like me. In some ways she is, but I kind of molded the character around my personality,” she says.

Accustomed to being the center of attention thanks to her music career as a solo artist, Cassie admits that she had no problem stepping out of the spotlight for the role. “It wasn’t about me and it was a situation where I was trying something new … maybe the next time I do a movie, that’ll be me,” she says. “But at least I got to learn a lot.” –ivory m. jones

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