Celebrity Parade With Jeanne Wolf

May 30, 2008 — -- JENNIFER HUDSON

Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for her show-stopping performance in "Dream Girls." But that didn't stop her from taking a juicy supporting role in the big-screen version of "Sex and the City." She plays Carrie Bradshaw's new assistant. Jennifer wasn't a regular viewer of the series. So to get ready she watched old episodes … And now she confesses, "I cant stop watching." Whether it's acting or singing, Hudson revealed her secret for being up to the challenge. She told parade:

"I feel like only fear can keep you grounded, you know? And I'd rather go out and search for it and try, than not to try at all. If you constantly be afraid of something, then you'll never be able to accomplish anything. And no one is going to let me stop them from doing what they want to do. So why should I let somebody stop me of intimidate me from doing what I want to do?"

Hudson will soon release her long-awaited debut album. She says "it's what I've been dreaming of my whole life."

LIV TYLER

It's Liv Tyler's first horror film. She's starring in "The Strangers" — a real scarefest. She and co-star Scott Speedman are terrorized by a gang of masked home invaders. Tyler knew that the key to being terrified in a big-screen thriller is getting your scream right. And she was worried she wasn't up to the challenge. Liv told Parade:

There's got to be a moment where the reality of like that first time I had to scream was coming. And I actually had a real anxiety about it and a little bit of a panic for a couple days because I – I mean, I heard myself scream like on a roller coaster, which I love to do. You know, you always have nightmares that you open your mouth and nothing comes out – like, literally.

Hey, no problem. Liv's screaming was pretty impressive. Maybe she wasn't faking it. She lost count of how many cuts and bruises she got during filming. Liv says, "I went to the supermarket and people were worried about me. They thought I'd been mugged or something."