The British actress had to master her American accent all over again because the false teeth she had to wear for 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' ruined her intonation.
- Dec 18, 2022
AceShowbiz - Naomi Ackie donned a set of false teeth to portray Whitney Houston in a new biopic. Preparing for her role as the late superstar in new movie-musical "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", the 30-year-old actress spent weeks perfecting her American accent only for it all to go horribly wrong as soon as she put in her specially-made teeth.
"I had been working on the [American] accent for six months and thought I had it down, then suddenly putting in the fake teeth meant I had to learn it all over again," she explained during an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show".
However, she still managed to fool most of her castmates who "freaked out" when they realised she's British. Naomi added, "People freaked out when they heard my British voice. On set I would be talking as Whitney and then afterwards I was like, 'Bloody hell, that was a hard day innit!' "
The actress also explained that she totally immersed herself in the world of Whitney to play the tragic singer - who died aged 48 in 2012 - and she ended up having to stop listening to the star's music for a while. She added, "I had to take a break because I really was immersed in her world."
However, after some timed had passed Naomi felt able to revisit the superstar's hit. She went in, "Now I listen to her to remember some of the moments I had filming. It was such a formative time in my life and career that I look back on it fondly."
"The Graham Norton Show" airs on BBC One on Friday December 16 at 10.40 P.M. It is also available on BBC iPlayer.
