AceShowbiz - Mary J. Blige has been inspired to pursue more acting roles after she saw Mariah Carey's "incredible" performance in "Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire". The soul singer is preparing to portray jazz legend Nina Simone in an upcoming biopic, "Untitled Nina Simone Project", and insists she was motivated to act after watching glamorous Carey morph into a homely social worker for 2009's "Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire".

She tells the BoomBox.com, "To look at Mariah [Carey] and see what she did with that film, it's like, wow! She really did it because she went past the Mariah we all know - with the hair and beautiful face. All of that Mariah stuff, it wasn't there. She got rid of herself! Wow, incredible. I know acting is something that I need to do."

"I don't care how old I get, I'm going to continue to pursue it because there's something in me that I've gotta get out! It needs to come out on screen... When I do this Nina Simone movie, everyone's gonna see what needs to come out."

Blige maintains she has the utmost respect for actors, adding "If I wasn't doing this (singing), I would love, love, love to have been an actress... This is the challenge, because you have to find this person and bring this person to life truthfully. Truthfully, so that everybody else can believe you. I think acting is the most selfless - not selfish - selfless thing you can do because it is totally not about you. You have to get rid of yourself 100 per cent."