Naomi Ackie has stated she’s “doubtlessly placing myself within the firing line” for enjoying Whitney Houston within the upcoming biopic I Wanna Dance With Any individual.
READ MORE: ‘I Wanna Dance with Any individual’ evaluation: A flawed however becoming tribute to a posh icon
The actress, who’s best-known for enjoying a resistance fighter in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker, mentioned portraying the enduring singer in a brand new interview with The Independent.
“I do know that by enjoying Whitney I’m doubtlessly placing myself within the firing line,” she stated. “Although I’m extra conscious of [what I’m getting into] as a result of I’m 31 and she or he was 19 when she entered the trade.”
Nevertheless, Ackie admitted that she’s nonetheless daunted by the prospect of changing into a significant star. “I really like being in entrance of the digicam and telling tales, however [fame] feels alien to me. I can already see my life altering. And I actually like my life!”
Directed by Kasi Lemmons, I Wanna Dance With Any individual focuses extra on the triumphant moments in Houston’s life, reasonably than her struggles with drug dependancy and quite a lot of scandals. Ackie defined why she felt that was the best transfer for the story, and why the optimistic features of her life far outweigh the damaging.
“We just like the binaries of fine and unhealthy,” she stated. “However I’m a giant believer which you could be many issues directly.
“After I take into consideration Whitney – sure, clearly there are the medication and her sickness of dependancy. However compared to the quantity that she gave us musically, and particularly should you’re of a minority – whether or not that’s your sexuality or the color of your pores and skin – the entry she offered us is large.”
She added: “On high of that, the sacrifices she made that permit individuals like me to even play her within the first place. With out Whitney, or so many different pioneers of that point, we wouldn’t even be speaking about variety as we speak. To me, that far outweighs any of the opposite elements of her life.”
In a three-star evaluation of the brand new biopic, NME wrote: “Ackie’s efficiency because the late famous person is genuinely transformative. She doesn’t simply nail Houston’s distinctive talking voice and stage mannerisms – the lip quivers, the dramatic hand gestures – but in addition captures her plucky spirit.”
‘I Wanna Dance With Any individual’ shall be launched in UK cinemas on December 26.