NAOMI WATTS - WATTS: NO RIVALRY BETWEEN NICOLE AND ME

Australian OSCAR nominee NAOMI WATTS has angrily denied reports she and NICOLE KIDMAN are being torn apart by career rivalry - insisting she never wants her best pal's level of fame.

Kidman and Watts have been close pals ever since meeting at an audition in their native Australia when they were youngsters.

And while Kidman went on to a high-profile marriage to TOM CRUISE and is now considered one of Tinseltown's greatest actresses, Watts' has had a steadier rise to fame.

But the 21 GRAMS actress is quick to refute suggestions that competition for plum parts has caused a rift between them, following reports they fell out over new movie I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT because Watts secured Kidman's "dream role".

She says, "I've watched her deal with things in incredible ways. It's always been a twin goal of mine that I could be successful and at the same time maintain anonymity.

"I don't want to be someone who's watched by everyone. I want to be the observer still. Acting is about being a blank canvas. And celebrity takes that power away.

"I've certainly never been jealous of Nicole."