Naomi Ackie Humanizes Whitney Houston in 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody'

"I'm not a shapeshifter, but I do know how to tell a good story."

Some people are so big, it's almost impossible to think of any actor portraying them. But when they do, and do it right, like Naomi Ackie has as Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance with Somebody (December 23), it's magic. "How do you humanize someone who you've held to such high esteem for so long? That is what she needs, though." Ackie says "I initially came in being like 'I have to be exactly like Whitney,'" but admits, "I'm not a shapeshifter, but I do know how to tell a good story." While she thought she knew Houston's story, like so many of us, she only knew part of it. Growing up, Whitney "served me with her music, and I just thought it was a given. I didn't think about the backstory. I didn't know." Perhaps part of the reason why we didn't know was that "her illness of addiction wasn't dealt with, there was an unkindness about [not] empathizing what it must feel like to have so many people expect so much of you all the time." But ultimately, Ackie hopes this film can be a "small part of undoing some of that work."

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How does it feel to be in one of the most anticipated movies of the year?

I'm not used to it. It feels very outside of my comfort zone. I won't lie to you. Part of me always likes to approach every project like it's an indie, this was very hard for me to pretend like it was. I'm like, "It's gonna be fine, it's gonna be fine." And then I'm like, "Oh, my God, everyone's gonna hate me." I guess I'm just sitting with that right now, which is kind of trying to surrender to the fact that if people enjoy it, they enjoy it. And if they don't, thankfully, we have Whitney to go back. And that was where my source material obviously came from. And that's where I hope this film leads, for people to go back to her. Because whatever I do is only going to be a tiny comparison to the story she told with her music. This project, for me, was all about loving and appreciating and wanting to humanize Whitney.

How do you make Whitney your own and what was your process like?

It was definitely a battle for me, because I think initially came in being like I have to be exactly like Whitney, I have to weigh the same as Whitney, I have to look exactly the same, every movement of my face has to be exactly recorded from a YouTube video. Obviously I can't. That's not why I really did this job in the first place. It has been a negotiation of juggling what parts of Whitney can I keep that match in the script? What can I elaborate on or accentuate that is part of my own experience? I think looking back on any film, but especially the ones where actors are playing real people, this is never about imitating, because that's a different art. I think telling a story—and the story to me about Whitney, if we can refer it that to our own lives—is about how to be kind to ourselves, how to work on our gift that we've been given, how to balance work and life. At the same time, how to deal with the pressure. Those are bigger themes. And for me, it was about working on what those bigger themes were and not always focusing on how to be—that was a pressure I put on myself, you know, how am I going to pull this off and trick everyone? I can't, I'm not a shapeshifter, but I do know how to tell a good story.

I can imagine how daunting it was because everybody knows Whitney, everybody has their own relationship with her.

Her music was a part of my family and my friend's upbringing, talking about love and joy and God and these things that are ingrained in us so much that I even walked into this project, when I found out I got it, I remember saying to a friend that this too big. Because playing Whitney feels like playing Cleopatra. People that are so large, how do you humanize someone who you've held to such high esteem for so long? That is what she needs, though. I think this [the movie] is a part of maybe undoing some of the work that happened to her, because of where she was, what she was going through in the time that she was extremely famous. There was an unkindness [toward her] in the way that she was. Her illness of addiction wasn't dealt with, there was an unkindness about empathizing what it must feel like to have so many people expect so much of you all the time, that maybe this is a small part of undoing some of that work. Maybe we take that attitude toward other people and realize these huge celebrities who are so amazing at one specific thing are still human and still have human struggles and still go through everything that we go through.

I think you're right. The passing of Whitney is still very new in a lot of ways, but if you look to artists like Judy Garland, do we just remember her tragic early ending? No. We remember the brilliance of her work. I feel like you're doing the same thing with Whitney.

When you see [the movie], you'll see that it acknowledges the drugs, yes, but it acknowledges the music and the joy and the connection she made with people and the impact she had on people. I think about so many people, even in my life who I've lost along the way, I'm like, the things I remember about them are not always their struggles, it's how they made me feel in their highest moments. Creating my version of Whitney, I was full of gratitude that I hadn't really felt for any particular kind of idol. There was a gratefulness and a lack of need for entitlement over that person that was a new experience. Because when I grew up with Whitney, she served me with her music, and I just thought it was a given. I didn't think about the backstory. I didn't know.

Because Whitney is somebody we all know, how do you drown out the hot takes so many people have on Whitney?

I am very, very good at shutting off my phone. [laughs] I get very protective over my work. I take what I like and I leave what I don't. So whenever anyone offered any information that I felt helped and supported what I was already trying to do, I would immediately absorb it with thanks. But anything that kind of felt like it didn't fit with the story, I would just let it go with thanks. I mean, to play Whitney is kind of like a win-win, lose-lose situation. Everyone has their ideas of who Whitney was. The beauty of being a symbol to people is that everyone reads her in different ways. There is no way in the world that I can please everyone with my perception of Whitney. But that was never going to be my focus. I tried to remind myself that wasn't going to be my focus, to try and please everybody. I know the source material that I have. I used that and then I started imagining everything.

Was there anything about Whitney that surprised you?

I guess the thing I was titillated by was how sweet and goofy she was. I didn't quite realize how silly she could be, especially when I found some of the home videos and stories from people around her. I think at the time I was growing up around the time she really didn't like press. Rightly so. So a lot of the things I remember was when she was being shown as unhappy. I remember that. And then I remember her playing the fairy godmother in Cinderella. Those are my two things. I remember hearing new music from Whitney, I don't remember when I first heard it, but I just knew all the songs. Everything she was seemed a lot older to me than she was. Because I was about 6 or 7, she seemed way older than she was. Now looking back, I'm like, Oh, crap. She's probably a few years older than me. So knowing that she's similar to me, it was actually one of the moments where I really connected. You should see me on set. I'm a silly billy. I take my work very seriously, but I also need to laugh and feel comfortable around people and make people laugh to feel like I'm doing my other part of the job. That was cool. I find it surprising and also unsurprising.

Because there are so many Whitney songs people respond to, is there one from the film you enjoyed recreating much?

There's a performance Whitney did, like a standalone performance, maybe one night or two in South Africa, for Nelson Mandela. The most perfect version of "I Will Always Love You." When I first saw it, and it's included in the film, it is one of the most magical things I have ever seen. She's got this beautiful head wrap on. When I say Whitney is a storyteller—and that was told to me by my movement coach and my friend Polly Bennett, she's incredible and I'm very lucky to have her as my friend—she was like, if you look at the way Whitney sings, it's like she's telling children a story. There are some moments, especially live, where it's like she's telling children a fairy tale, it softens my heart. I'm talking about it and I just get shivers. So that was one of my favorites. But to be honest, anytime I got to open my mouth and it sounded like I sounded like Whitney Houston, I was happy. Because we've all tried. We've all done that moment where we're lip synching to Whitney. Because you can't sing as good as Whitney. Open your mouth. Just open your mouth.

What was it like working with the director, Kasi Lemmons?

Oh, wow. I love that woman. I think there was something in me that felt like a child making this film. I felt the most unstable. To have her there as a support and as someone who completely believed in me. I was aggressive sometimes in the way that I was like, stop making me do this. I can't do this. She's got a beautiful energy, she's so clued in on filmmaking, but also talking to actors. She's good at soft love/tough love direction. Those were the things I needed because coming into it, I remember saying to my sister when I got the part, you celebrate and then you're like, "Oh, f***." And in that moment, I said to my sister, I was like, I feel like I'm a baby staring at a mountain. I know somehow I've got to get to the top and I have no idea how I'm gonna get there. Luckily for me, Kasi came in and held my hand. There was so much to do in preparing for this and then shooting it, which is like a whole marathon within itself. I couldn't have done it without her, and I'm so grateful that she's still fighting for me even now.

Another film of yours I'm very excited about is Zoë Kravitz's new film Pussy Island. Anything you can say about that that's going to make me want to see it even more? I mean, you got to work with Geena Davis!

I love [Geena] so much. She signed a packet of Skittles. When you watch the film that will make more sense. It's in my living room right now. Oh God, what can I say? Expect a multi-tone sound like a thriller-horror with humor and darkness and surprises. It's one of the craziest films I have ever been a part of making. I feel like people even think of the title and think they know what they're about to see. It's not predictable. And it was hugely cathartic for me, personally, and it gave me access to an amazing group of people who I call friends to this day, the cast are all incredible human beings. I love them deeply, deeply, deeply. And we had the maddest time in Mexico filming.

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