CHANNELING Heartache that led new Whitney star to ‘send shivers’ down spines of filmmakers
WHEN Naomi Ackie went nt after the role of one of the world’s ’s greatest and most tormented singers, ingers, she was following the advice e of her late mum to “call your spirit t back”.
The British 29- year- old ld has just landed the lead role in a film m of Whitney Houston’s life after a 12-month nth search by Hollywood producers.
After a string of projects ts that had failed to make an impact, pact,
Naomi had given herself a year to turn her prospects around und
– and seized on the guidance nce of her mother, whom she lost six years ago.
Naomi said: “It’s what my mum used to say – ‘Call your ur spirit back’.
“Basically, stay in the e present. Too much time e thinking about what has s been, or what could be, is not living at all.”
It was that thought that t spurred her on – first to the e role of Jannah in last year’s r’s
Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalker, then in TV comedy edy drama The End of the F***ing *ing
World, winning a Bafta.
But the Whitney story had a more personal edge.
Her mum Debra, the source urce of her inspiration, died unexpectedly ectedly in 2016 at 49 – a year older der than Whitney was when she died ed in 2012.
With thoughts of Debra foremost in her mind, she channelled a version of Whitney that stunned even n those who knew the superstar.
STRUGGLES
Producer Clive Davis – who gave Whitney her first recording g contract at the age of 19 – said: “Naomi’s mi’s the real deal. Her screen test was so o powerful it sent shivers up my spine.
“Her extraordinary acting cting range enables her to masterfully lly capture Whitney’s unique charm, star power and, of course, her personal l struggles.”
Davis, 88, is also credited ited with shaping the careers of legends nds such as Aretha Franklin, Janis s Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia cia Keys.
The film, I Wanna Dance ce with Somebody, is due for release ease in
2022 and is being made with ith the backing of Whitney’s estate. te.
Director Stella Meghie said:
“We spent the better part of the last year in an exhaustive tive search for an actress who could embody Whitney.
“Naomi impressed us at every stage of the process.
“I was moved by her er ability to capture the stage e presence of a global icon n while bringing humanity to her interior life.”
That is perhaps even more extraordinary given Naomi’s mi’s humble beginnings. Her earliest memories emories were made in a terraced house in unglamorous Walthamstow in East ast London, where her father still lives.
Now, though, she is likely ely to mirror Whitney’s own rise to fame me – and the riches that brings with it.
One insider said last night: ght: “With a part in a Star Wars film already ready under her belt and this high-profile file biopic in development, it would not be unusual for her to earn a sixfigure sum from her first movie in a lead role.
“After that, depending how it’s received by critics and at the box office, the sky really is the limit.”
Seeing her land the role has delighted Naomi’s friends and family
– none more so than her father Brian. He told the Sunday Mirror: “I’m very proud.
“She knew what she w wanted to be and she’s gone an and achieved it.”
Naomi fell in love with theatre after playing a rapping angel Gabriel at the age of 11, at Walthamstow Schoo School for Girls.
Former deputy head hea Nigel Straker, who taught Naomi through throughout her teens and is a close family friend, told how her mum’s death pushed Naomi to greate greater things.
He said: “It seemed to galvanise Naomi’s spirit. “She never saw setba setbacks as anything other than opportunity to go forward. f She’s one of the most positive students I’ve I ever taught.”
He told how when Naomi Na took a lead role in a school production of musical m The Wiz, based on the Wizard of Oz, the effect was invigorating. Nigel said: “She’s a fab fabulous singer.
“She gave an absolutely absolu stunning performance that had the audience aud on their feet.
“She also inspired the other students to dig
deep, to really go beyond their boundaries.” By coincidence, when Whitney made her national TV debut alongside Davis on The Merv Griffin Show in the US, she performed a song called Home – from the same musical.
On a recent trip back to the school Naomi spoke about the voice within her, saying: “When outside forces are telling you you’re not meant to be in a space, you need something on the inside that keeps propelling you forward.
” When you mix that with supportive family and friends, it means I have a really strong backbone that enables me to do what I love.”
When she won the Bafta for the darkly funny The
End Of The F***ing
World, beating
INSPIRING Actress Naomi
Helena Bonham Carter to the award, Naomi fought back tears as she paid tribute to her mother. She told the TV audience: “I know my mum, up in the clouds, will be so proud.”
Naomi’s parents – second-generation immigrants from Grenada – married in 1990 in Camden, North London. Already a scene-stealer, Naomi arrived just 13 months later.
She has a half-sister, Rochelle, 36, who she is close to and still lives in north London.
When she is not filming, Naomi often stays with her dad. Despite Hollywood calling her, she still describes London – “even on a cloudy day” – as her favourite place on earth.
From school, Naomi went on to study at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama,
ICONIC Whitney sings at London Arena in 1999
whose high-profile alumni include Dame Judi Dench and Martin Freeman. Yet the roles were slow to follow. There was a cameo in Doctor Who in 2015 that failed to make it to the screen.
Then there was an indie drama, Lady Macbeth, loved by critics but largely unwatched.
In 2017, Naomi was working at the immersive Crystal Maze Experience in London’s West End – and made a pact with herself.
She recalled in one interview: “I said to myself, I have to quit this side job and give myself a year of not doing any other work [except] acting.
“If I turn 27 and things haven’t kicked off, I need to let this go and figure something else out.” But things did kick off – with ITV drama Cleaning Up, and then, crucially, the role of Jannah in The Rise of Skywalker.
Naomi feels the part carried a special responsibility. She tells proudly how, as one of the first prominent black female characters in such a movie, her casting also had a positive impact – especially on young black girls.
It is a sentiment worthy of I’m Every Woman singer Whitney.
I said to myself, if I turn 27 and things haven’t kicked off then I need to let this go
NAOMI ACKIE ON FEARS SHE WOULD NOT MAKE IT AS AN ACTRESS