Naomi Ackie is starring as Whitney Houston in new biopic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’

Naomi Ackie will shine in cinemas as Whitney Houston in the upcoming biopic ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ which will portray the life of the iconic, but troubled singer. The film will cover all of Houston’s career, and address her personal struggles.

Ackie previously starred as Jannah in Star Wars: The Rise of SKywalker, and is known for her performance as Bonnie on the television dark comedy-drama series The End of the F***ing World, of which she received the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2020

Still, the role of Whitney Houston is a gargantuan task and the star Initially was reluctant to take up the role, telling Vanity Fair: “I was like, ‘Absolutely not. That is too big.’” But her team thankfully talked her into it. Ackie spoke about the project and how it was important to honour the singer’s incredible life: “This project was about honouring her legacy, and I think there has to be a real balance of the light and dark in that.”

Ackie told Vanity Fair that she’s seen a rough cut of the film and “left feeling grateful for what [Houston] gave us without feeling too weighed down by the intricacies of her struggle with addiction. But it’s a part of her life and that has to be acknowledged.”

Whitney is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers of all time due to her range and ability to belt out hits including I Will Always Love You, I Wanna with Somebody, How Will I Know, It’s Not Right but It’s Okay, I Have Nothing and My Love is Your Love.Houston sold over 200 million records across the globe throughout her career. She died in 2012 at the age of 48.

Naomi Ackie isn’t the first actor to take on the role of an icon, many celebrities have attempted this in the past with some Oscar worthy performances among them. So which celebrities have taken on the roles of real people in films? Here’s a PW breakdown.

Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin herself expressed her desire for Jennifer Hudson to play her in an eventual biopic. When it came down to playing the part Hudson said she just wanted to ‘get it right’ and honour the legend. Franklin died who died in August 2018 at age 76 due to pancreatic cancer.

Hudson told Sunday Today: "Those are huge shoes to fill. I am just taking it one step at a time, one day at a time. All I want to do is pay tribute to her and meet her requests, you know? Like, 'Aretha said do this?'- "Yes, ma'am.'"

She added: "we were in talks a long time about me playing her. So I just hope I make her proud [and] do her justice."

Carey Mulligan as Megan Twohey

Carey Mulligan played one of the two women who broke the Harvey Weinstein story for the New York Times. Mulligan played journalist Megan Twohey, while Zoe Kazan played Jodi Kanton in the 2022 film She Said.

The film followed the journey of uncovering the sexual assualt cases against Weinstein. The film also featured Ashley Judd, one of the first women to publicly accuse the producer, playing herself.

Mulligan and Kazan spoke with the Los Angeles Times about playing the characters with Mulligan saying she did “So much.” to capture Megan: “Something interesting about both of them [is] their pattern of speech. They complete the thought before they speak. The whole thought has been thought through, then they say the words. There’s no ums or ahs, no hesitation. It’s exactly what they mean. Initially, there’s something really intimidating about somebody who is that together”

Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke

Leslie Odom Jr. portrayed the legendary singer Sam Cooke in the film One Night in Miami which was directed by Regina King. He received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal, as well as a second nomination for writing the music and lyrics to one of the film’s songs, "Speak Now."

Odom Jr. spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the role saying: "I did not see Sam Cooke in me. I was not inclined to pick up those very large shoes and fail."

He added: "I gave the script a second look, and I saw beyond that. I saw beyond my fear ... I was willing to take the leap."

Austin Butler as Elvis

Austin Butler famously fully immersed himself when he was cast as ‘Elvis’ in the Baz Lurhman bionic that was released in 2022. Even when filming shut down for six months due to Covid, Butler stayed in Australia and told IndieWire: “I would set up a camera one day and I would just do an interview as Elvis.”

He spoke about losing himself in the character, saying: “With “Elvis,” I definitely had an existential crisis when I finished. I didn’t do anything that was grounded in Austin for that time. I didn’t talk to my family or my friends or anybody. I would talk to them every couple months or something, but I really did lose touch with me. But I also learned things about myself — that’s a beautiful gift. It’s a confusing part about being an actor.”

Jennifer Lopez as Selena

JLo’s role as Selena Quintanilla-Pérez catapulted her to fame, and cemented her career as an actor. The role secured her a Golden Globe nomination.

Lopez spoke about the role with Billboard in 2015, saying: "It was about portraying her as best I could, to where people weren't thinking of anybody but her when they were watching. You have to think of the whole story and how you fit into that story and at the same time, who is that character, what makes them tick, all the way down to their mannerisms and what drove them emotionally."

Taron Egerton as Elton John

Egerton famously played Elton John in Rocketman, with his performance earned him the Golden Globe for best actor in a musical or comedy.

Egerton told PEOPLE that taking on the role of Elton John was no easy task, saying: "The transformation he goes through, the character in that story, in the script, from shy, retiring plump teenager to Rock God, to midlife addict and someone who was incredibly jaded and angry… it was just such a great acting challenge because he has three or four versions of who he is in the first half of his life."