Elijah Kelley has the total package

Up-and-comer Elijah Kelley sings, dances and steals the show in the remake of "Hairspray."

In a cast that includes Hollywood heavyweights John Travolta and Queen Latifah, newcomer Elijah Kelley really stands out -- and not just because he's a young, wiry guy with an uncanny resemblance to the legendary Sammy Davis Jr.

Kelley, 21, is the total package: a singing-acting-dancing dynamo. In "Hairspray," the new movie reincarnation of John Waters' 1988 cult classic opening next Friday, Kelley plays Seaweed, the young black upstart who teaches plus-size heroine Tracy Turnblad (played by fellow newcomer Nikki Blonsky) how to get her groove on.

Kelley is, as they say, on the verge. His audition for Seaweed was so good that he was cast before the filmmakers had found their Tracy. "It was very risky because you're casting somebody without knowing whether they fit," says one of the producers, Craig Zadan. "But we were so blown away that we said, 'This kid is going to be a huge star, and we should make him a star.' "

Kelley gets his groove on with Nikki Blonsky in "Hairspray." Photo David James/New Line Cinema

Kelley doesn't disagree. "Mentally, I walked in with a big chip on my shoulder, like, 'Y'all are going to see me, y'all are going to know who I am,' " admits Kelley, who starred in commercials and performed in a gospel band with his family as a child. Kelley's parents, determined to keep their son down to earth, moved with him when he set out for Los Angeles after graduating from high school.

In his hometown of LaGrange, Ga., he's already a star. A screening of "Hairspray" was supposed to be a private affair, but it turned into a public celebration with the mayor. "I ask him, 'Are you ready for this?' " says his mom, Evalene Flournoy.

On the set of "Hairspray," Kelley got career advice from Latifah, who plays his mother. And his relationship with John Travolta, who portrays Tracy's super-sized mom, Edna Turnblad, was chummy. One time, when Travolta spoke to him while dressed up as Edna, Kelley answered, "Yes, ma'am."

"He wasn't even doing the Edna voice," Kelley laughs. "That costume totally threw me off."