“Is this unprofessional?” Naomi Ackie makes a beeline for the wine. But wouldn’t someone need a drink if everyone was about to see her play Whitney Houston? Ackie has been famous for a few years now, a British actress known for playing a resistance warrior in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, then as the wife of Lena Waithe in Moments in Love, spinoff of Master of None. Today, however, it appears on all street signs: “I’m sorry,” he winks, pouring himself a glass of rosé wine. Ackie used to pray that one day her face and her name would appear on a movie poster. But now, with her phone inundated with texts from friends and family over the announcements of I want to dance with someone what do they say “Naomi Ackie es Whitney Houston”, he’s thinking about it again. “It’s amazing, but also really embarrassing…” The film will arrive in Argentina on February 9.
Ackie is not a reticent star, but a practical one. Meeting in a London hotel in the middle of a grueling press week, audiences and critics alike have yet to see the film, which means the reception is still abstract, like an iceberg that Ackie may yet collide with or surround himself with. security. She tries not to feel overwhelmed. “The reality of cinema is that it is really intense”, He says. “You have to be careful. I just want to enjoy it.” But she’s also about to become very famous playing someone who… “Did you have a complicated relationship with fame?”, Ackie completes the sentence, aware of the paradox.
“I know that by doing Whitney I’m putting myself in the line of fire,” He says. “And I’m more aware of what I’m getting myself into because I’m 31, and she was 19 when she entered the industry.” Still, she feels anxious. “I love being in front of the camera and telling stories, but fame is strange to me. I can see my life changing. And I like my life!” She Says She’s Worried About Losing Her Privacy. Losing “Nay,” As Her Loved Ones Call It. “It’s A Strange Time, Buddy!”
Ackie has her hair pulled back, which highlights her fantastic face. In a second it is delicate and serene, like that of a supermodel. The next he looks full of character, cryptic and mischievous, enhanced by his big smile. It’s very London which makes it even more impressive its transformation in Houston.
I want to dance with someone es a very traditional biopic, that runs through Houston life like a Wikipedia page. “Whitney, have you ever thought about acting?” asks her manager Clive Davis. (Stanley Tucci). “Because they just sent me a script for something called The bodyguard.” That kind of thing. Ackie, anyway. navigate the clumsiest elements with a lot of magic. No, it doesn’t look like Houston – could anyone? – but hits the nail on the head with his most distinctive mannerisms. The way to step on stage. The tremor of her lips when singing. The chaotic enunciation of each syllable in the interviews. But it is more than mimicry. Ackie captures the spirit of Houston, her melancholy, her tragic sense of indestructibility.
Let me point out that I don’t envy the filmmakers, who tried to make a film as animated as realistically possible. There are colorful costumes, musical numbers and video re-enactments, featuring Ackie lip-synching over Houston’s voice. Director Kasi Lemmons he chooses not to dwell too much on the worst years of Houston’s addiction, or the most sensational scandals. His famous 2002 declaration of “Crack is bereta”, for example, does not appear. But you can’t avoid the fact that Houston’s story is devastatingand remained so after his death by accidental drowning in a bathtub in 2012 (due to heart disease and cocaine use). Their only daughter, Bobbi Kristina, died in similar circumstances in 2015, aged 22.
The film tries to end on a triumphant note, going back to a time in his life when who had the world at his feet, but still leaves a feeling more sad than ecstatic. Ackie understands. “We like the binary of good and bad,” she says. “But I think one can be many things at the same time. When I think about Whitney, yes, obviously there are drugs and her disease of addiction. But compared to how much she gave us musically, and especially if you’re in a minority – be it because of your sexuality or the color of your skin-, gave us enormous access. The sacrifices she made allowed people like me to interpret her. Without Whitney, or so many other pioneers of that time, we wouldn’t even talk about diversity today. To me that trumps any other part of his life.”
Ackie thinks that Houston knew who he wasdespite the fact that the world was projecting various narratives onto her through her existence as a celebrity. “The public always tried to tell him who he should be”, He says. “One day she was the pop princess, the next she was the drug addict, eradicating all the things that had come before.” She shudders. “She is absolutely scary to think that your life can become a talking point among people who have no idea who you are. That’s what scares me the most about fame.”
Ackie has had a long time to think about becoming famous, especially for some false starts. She graduated from acting school in 2014, and was cast in the period thriller Lady Macbeth, by William Oldroyd, a year later. It was a success of auteur cinema at its premiere in 2017, with Florence Pugh -in her second film- playing a 19th century trophy-woman who plots to murder her much older husband. Ackie plays a maid who gets caught in her web, and does a wonderful job. won the award for most promising new actress at the British Independent Film Awards, and was named one of the Stars of Tomorrow by Screen International.
“But then nothing appeared”, remember Ackie. “People weren’t looking for black actresses the way they are now, and acting is expensive. I was still living in the family home, and I had no money.” He was very close to giving up. “I was sick of waiting.”
His frustration was all the more acute because Lady Macbeth it was a great showcase for her co-star. Upon release, Florence Pugh became, well, Florence Pugh. “I think she was very innocent,” Ackie continues. “I think it wasn’t my time yet. But I also think it’s much easier -or was at the time- in the market…” she pauses. “There were more jobs, and still are, for white women. Especially those as talented as Florence. There are a lot of actresses of color, and actors of color in particular, who have been left by the wayside because of a lack of material. Or the lack of bold casting directors and managers. I think we’re getting better, but at that point…” she sighs. “They weren’t interested.”
He says he knows it all worked out in the end, and points proudly to Florence’s success, but remembers he took it personally. “I told my dad that he couldn’t improve if he didn’t get a job. And they wanted me to be good to get a job. What could I do?”
Say what Star Wars it provided him with access to a movie industry that he eventually grew weary of. She also sent her to the United States, and to a team of agents who brought her to the gates of Whitney. Whatever happens with the movie, it’s an important touchstone. She has already filmed leading roles for Pussy Island -a thriller directed by Zoë Kravitz with Channing Tatum- and Mickey 17, the new movie Bong Joon-ho (Parasites), beside Robert Pattinson, which will only be released in 2024.
Some Whitney stuff will remain. “Now everything is easier for me,” says Ackie. “I found my voice. I’m not scared to ask for things anymore. That’s what the movie taught me: you need to say what you need to say.” Today, for example, she has to cut. We finish our glass of rosé just as the Whitney team comes looking for her. There will be more press in the weeks to come. More scrutiny.“Wish me luck,” he begs, pulling on his coat. “Pray that they don’t throw me into the lions’ arena.”
* Of The Independent From great britain. Special for Page 12.