Justin Timberlake says that he is well aware that fans of his music feel betrayed by his recent decision to pursue an acting career over putting out new music.
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Timberlake, a former Mickey Mouse Club member, admits that his fans sometimes consider him a traitor for starring in so many movies over the past decade or so, instead of making music and releasing albums (other than his 2002 debut Justified and 2006’s FutureSex/LoveSounds).
“They’re looking at me like, ‘Why aren’t you staying with one path?’ ” he said. “They look at me like I’m ungrateful for my music career because I want to do film.”
Justin, whose latest movie “Yogi Bear” opened in theaters last weekend, says that he’s always wanted to act, and added that his fans were just as riled up as they are now when he decided to leave NSYNC and become a solo artist.
“I faced the same feelings when I went solo,” he explained. “I had the same obstacles in music. I still do. But I feel like I should pose the question to everyone else: If you had this opportunity, what would you do with it? Entertaining is in my blood. I make no bones about the fact that I have always wanted to work in the forum of film. I take this seriously. I’ll be 30 in January, and I’m saying to myself, ‘If I’m going to do this, I need to do it now.’
“I don’t know what a pop ‘career’ is,” JT continued. “I just wanted to be in music. I don’t necessarily crave to be a movie star. I just want to be an actor. I don’t look at it as a career — I just feel lucky. That’s not to say I’m going to take every opportunity that comes up. But now I have more chance to plot out a path.”
Timberlake assures his fans that he isn’t done with music just yet, but they’ll have to be patient with him because he just simply CANNOT do two things at the same time, and he says the music would “suck.”
“I hope I’m not done (with music). For some reason I keep getting asked that question a lot, like I’ve said, ‘I’m never doing music again’. And I hope not. I’m a male and I lack the ability to do two things at the same time. And I can tell you that the day that I comprehended that, my life became a lot easier! I just feel like when you’re doing a film like I’m doing now, you immerse yourself, you embody that character and… it’s such a transformation mentally that trying to write music at the same time… it would suck!”
Justin Timberlake is rumored to land an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Napster founder Sean Parker in the summer 2010 blockbuster “The Social Network.”
