Naomi Ackie on Feeling Close to Whitney Houston After Biopic (Exclusive)

The story of the legendary Whitney Houston is being told on the big screen in the new biopic “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

“Extra’s” Rachel Lindsay spoke to star Naomi Ackie about taking on the role of Whitney and what the late pop icon means to her.

Naomi shared, “Losing her, losing her voice, losing her presence in this industry is huge.”

She said before playing the icon that Whitney was “someone I was just in awe of.” After stepping into her shoes, “I feel very close to her experience,” Ackie said.

Stanley Tucci portrays music mogul Clive Davis, who discovered Houston.

Tucci shared, “It was fascinating what he has achieved and how his choices have influenced the music that we listen to and they've been therefore influenced our lives so significantly from Bruce Springsteen to Whitney so you want to play that person because he's fascinating and complicated and that relationship is really quite beautiful.”

Tucci also praised Whitney, saying, “No one will ever be able to sing like that again — I can't imagine.”

The film, endorsed by her estate, goes inside her rocky marriage to Bobby Brown and her complicated relationship with her father. It also takes fans behind the scenes to reveal a side of Whitney they’ve never seen, including a relationship with her best friend Robyn.

Naomi said, “It's like yes, yes icon, yes pioneer, but also a human being, also a woman, also a daughter, and a sister, you know? And a mother and all of those things that I actually think I would argue are more important.”