Oklahoman Katrina Elam makes acting debut in 'Pure Country 2'

DALLAS — Back in 1992, George Strait made his movie debut with the hit musical drama "Pure Country."

That same year, Bray native Katrina Elam made her singing debut at a 4-H talent show, bringing her mother to tears with her confident, big-voiced performance.

Now 26, Elam is making her first foray into acting and sharing the screen with the King of Country Music in the spinoff "Pure Country 2: The Gift," opening today in theaters.

"I just really wanted to meet George Strait," Elam said with a laugh during a news conference at the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas. "I certainly have never thought about being an actress; it still kind of even cracks me up. But you know, it was fun. I thought, 'Why not? I'm an adventurous person, so I'll try it.' I'm glad I did it."

Elam stars as Bobbie Thomas, who as a baby receives the gift of a divine voice from a trio of angels. But the angels also require her to follow three rules — never lie, always be fair and never break a promise — to keep her heavenly talent. When Bobbie leaves her Kentucky hometown to seek her fortune in Nashville, Tenn., the aspiring singer learns the path to stardom is riddled with obstacles, including the temptation to compromise her values.

The Oklahoma-born- and-bred singer-songwriter was able to channel the ups and downs she faced in her own music career for the movie role.

"What I learned was maybe what you don't want is fame and like all the craziness; maybe what you want to do is just make music. And that's kind of where I come from and that's kind of how I relate to the character. I just want to do what I do, and I want to do it well enough hopefully to get paid enough to live," Elam said with a laugh. "But I'm not gonna sell my soul, and I'm not gonna make my personal life sacrifice too much for that."

After her first 4-H debut, Elam became an in-demand performer at weddings, parties and events. She caught the attention of country superstars Reba McEntire and Vince Gill, who took her name back to Nashville. She signed her first publishing deal at age 16.

In 2004, she released her self-titled debut album, produced by Tony Brown and Jimmie Lee Sloas, on Universal South. She scored a Top 40 hit with "No End in Sight" and toured with Keith Urban. Around that time, Brown also recommended Elam to "Pure Country" director Christopher Cain, who was working on the follow-up.

"The problem with getting this movie made is if you're doing a movie about a girl with a gift, she'd better have one. Or you're dead. And she came along," Cain said.

Cain and his stepson, actor/writer Dean Cain, actually penned the script for "Pure Country 2" about 15 years ago. The project was quickly green-lit, and LeAnn Rimes was sought for the lead role. When she turned it down, the project was shelved. Over the years, the Cains tried at various times to get the film on track.

"We didn't wait six years for her to grow up, it just took that long to get the movie made, for the obvious reasons that you don't see these movies on the big screen much anymore," Christopher Cain said.

In the intervening years, Elam took some hard knocks from the music business. She lost her recording contract, and her second album, "Turn Me Up," was never released. She turned her focus to songwriting, co-penning "I Want a Cowboy" on McEntire's album "Keep on Loving You," "Change" for Carrie Underwood's "Play On" and a pair of tracks for Rascal Flatts' upcoming "Nothing Like This."

Along with her natural acting talent, Elam was able to showcase her singing and songwriting skills once production finally started on "Pure Country 2." She co-wrote two songs on the soundtrack, and the filmmakers used four tracks from her never released album.

"The little snotty part of me is like, 'Ha ha, told you they were good,'" Elam said with a laugh. "I loved that project so much ... so it's nice to see 'em coming to life again."

While Elam isn't sure if she will take on any more acting roles, she knows she will cherish memories of working with Strait, who appears as himself in "Pure Country 2."

"I grew up watching the first 'Pure Country' and obviously love George Strait. Just to meet him for the first time was incredible. And to get to do scenes with him and see what a sweetheart he is was incredible," she said.