Naomie Ackie’s whirlwind ride: On ‘Blink Twice,’ Zoë Kravitz and Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Mickey 17’

British actor Naomie Ackie, acclaimed for portraying the role of Whitney Houston in the legendary singer’s biopic, talks about her two upcoming features: Zoë Kravitz’s ‘Blink Twice’ and Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Mickey 17’

Naomie Ackie’s biggest regret in life is that she did not get to be part of the Harry Potter movies. 

“I’m still desperate to be part of the franchise in some way! Growing up, I was such a huge Potter fan and I was so jealous of all the kids who were cast in the movies. I really wanted to be Hermoine (Granger), but obviously that part was already taken and played beautifully by Emma Watson. When I was 15, I auditioned to play Lavender Brown and got to the second round... but unfortunately it didn’t work out. Ah well, maybe they’ll let me audition for them once more,” she sighs.

The Londoner may not have gotten to wear cloaks or cast spells (just yet), but she has not fared too badly since. After breaking out with films like Lady Macbeth and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, her roles on two hit television shows — The End of the F***ing World and Master of None — truly announced Naomie’s arrival in Hollywood. She followed that up by being cast as Whitney Houston in the legendary singer’s biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, which led to universal critical acclaim for the rising British actor.

And it is only getting better; next up, she stars as the lead in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice (releasing this week), and then will be seen in Parasite filmmaker and Oscar-winner Bong Joon-ho’s long-awaited sci-fi thriller Mickey 17.

Blink Twice will be her second outing with a Black female filmmaker (the Houston biopic was directed by Kasi Lemmons), and Naomie has earlier spoken about how when it is a Black woman helming a project, “there’s almost an unspoken understanding” of what is expected from her as an actor. 

She elaborates, “When you have something deeply in common in terms of identity with the person who is leading you through a story, you naturally know that there is nothing you can’t talk about. There are no sensitive buttons when it comes to discussing those things, and it becomes a really open conversation. Luckily, I’ve dealt with many directors who don’t share the same identity as me, but still have been able to find that with me. But there is an ease I have found, and a joy more than anything, to work with people who know my experience and have lived my experience.”

She adds, “There is something quite special about it. And you know, there aren’t a huge amount of female directors anyway, let alone female directors of colour, not even just Black, but all around the world. So when I do get to engage with directors who are away from the norm, I do naturally just go, ‘oh wow, this is going to be different and it’s going to be fun’. I can maybe tap into something else, and explore other avenues of performing.”