During the ABFF Pop-Up in New York City, actress and singer Naturi Naughton-Lewis joined Ally’s Erica Hughes for an informative panel on “Money Wellness and the Creator.” The conversation explored how artists can build financial confidence while staying true to their creative calling, and Naturi didn’t hold back when reflecting on one of her biggest career “what ifs.”
Every artist has that one story. The moment they passed on something that, in hindsight, could have changed everything. For Naturi, that moment came early in her career, when a young filmmaker named Ryan Coogler asked her to star in his short film Fig.
Fig went on to win top honors at the American Black Film Festival, later earning awards at AFI Fest and the HBO Short Film Competition — a launchpad for Coogler’s meteoric rise as one of Hollywood’s most visionary directors.
Long before Black Panther and Creed made him a household name, Ryan Coogler was a rising filmmaker working on a short film called Fig. Naughton recalls being offered a role in the project, which at the time came with little pay but enormous potential. Word!
“He was really talented, and the script was really good,” Naughton said. “They were paying me, like, a day rate — maybe a couple hundred dollars, real talk. And John Singleton was his mentor at that time. I loved John. Twinkie Byrd was casting and told me, ‘You need to do this movie. He’s about to be the next one.’”
Naughton was ready to say yes, until her team stepped in.
“They were vehemently against it. They told me if I did it, they’d drop me,” she explained. “They said it wasn’t a good look because I was about to do a series called The Playboy Club. They said, ‘You have to maintain a certain prestige.’” Can you believe that?!
It was 2010 or 2011, and Naughton-Lewis was on the verge of a major TV role. The choice seemed logical at the time. Still, looking back, she sees it as a turning point that taught her the difference between prestige and opportunity.
“I just want to share with everyone, sometimes access and opportunity are more valuable than money,” she said. “Prestige is bigger than money. But so is relational currency. Write that down, y’all: relational currency.” Real talk!
Years later, Naughton still runs into Coogler and laughs about the one that got away. It’s all love though!
“I see Ryan all the time, and I’m like, ‘You know I’m ready! Whatever you need!’” she said with a smile. “I told him, ‘Forgive me for not doing your movie.’ And he was like, ‘No, I love you, I love you — I wanted you because I saw you in Notorious.’”
The short film Fig went on to win awards, including recognition from HBO and AFI Fest, marking the start of Coogler’s incredible rise. A true testament to his talent.
“It was the launch of something,” Naughton reflected. “You’ve got to get in early. That’s what I learned. Sometimes you just have to go ahead and do stuff, even when the money or the prestige doesn’t make sense yet.” Preach!
The ABFF Pop-Up NYC runs until Sunday Oct 26th. For more information on upcoming locations go here.
