Embodying Whitney Houston for an entire year was some feat for actress Naomi Ackie.
The late singer’s difficult life story is played out in the new biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and actress Naomi - whose performance has already earned her a BAFTA nomination - admits filming was tough.
“It was hefty,” she said, before adding with a chuckle: “I don’t know if I’d do it again... But I learnt a lot from it.”
The actress said it was tricky to strike a balance between “the technical side of learning about somebody who actually exists” with “the imagination and emotional side you naturally have as an actor” was “an extraordinary experience”.
“There was something very beautiful about that project,” she said at London’s Savoy hotel yesterday.
“Whitney is a storyteller. There is a narrative with her songs, and when you see some of her live performances, she literally does look like she’s telling children a story. It’s really beautiful.”
Naomi had a movement coach, who helped her perfect the troubled singer’s mannerisms, but she certainly had most fun on set with Stanley Tucci, who plays her record label boss Clive Davis.
“That man...” laughs Naomi. “He gave me whisky at the end of every day, it was great.”
Naomi is one of five nominees for the EE Rising Star award at next month’s BAFTAs, alongside Sheila Atim for The Woman King, Aimee Lou Wood for Living, Emma Mackey who stars in Emily, and Bad Sisters star Daryl McCormack for his role alongside Dame Emma Thompson in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.
The winner will be announced at the EE BAFTA Film Awards, at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on February 19.
