I play Whitney Houston in the movie,

"I Wanna Dance to Somebody"

and I'm here to answer

some trivia questions about Whitney.

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Whitney was born in Newark, New Jersey.

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I learned so much about Whitney.

The thing that surprised me was learning

about her approach to rehearsal.

When she sang Star Spangled Banner

they wanted to get a recording just in case.

And the story goes

that she kind of went in, did it once, did it amazingly

and they were like, okay, do you wanna do it again?

And she was like, absolutely not.

(Naomi laughing)

Because for one I'm singing it tomorrow.

And for two like that was amazing

and I've heard a lot of stories like that,

that she would be able to do things just in one take.

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Her nickname that she was

called by her father as a baby

but also then eventually like all her family

and friends was Nippy.

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Oh my god, I love this

'cause her birthday is August the ninth

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and my birthday is August the 22nd.

And that means we are both Leo's.

I'm pretty Leo, but I'm Leo on the cusp.

Technically like the next day is a Virgo birthday

so I'm a little bit, I'm perfectionist

but also sometimes got quite a big ego

and they butt heads a lot.

August the ninth, if I'm correct

the sun is at a higher point.

And to be honest, it rings true to Whitney.

She was self-confident in its purest form.

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Dolly Parton wrote, I will always love you.

(bell ringing)

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It was called Whitney.

(bell ringing) (Naomi laughing)

I've heard I wanna dance with somebody

like obviously a lot, but recently it's been

♪ When you're feeling down ♪

♪ Love will save the day ♪

♪ Oh love will save the day ♪

Yeah, no that's a good one.

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Whitney Houston's character name

in the bodyguard was Rachel Marron.

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My first acting role was a

high end doctor that got cut.

(Naomi laughing)

I was heartbroken.

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I think she won six Grammys , (bell ringing)

in her career.

The most challenging part,

I mean there was many different challenging parts.

I think the biggest thing

without sounding too twee

was getting out of my own way.

As much as I practiced and rehearsed

and tried to understand Whitney,

there was also a lot

of work I had to do to not self sabotage

by being too nervous about doing this.

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(Naomi laughing)

♪ Clock strikes upon the hour ♪

♪ And the sun begins to fade ♪

(bell ringing)

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That picture is from the music video,

I have nothing.

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♪ I have the boat ♪

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Whitney and Bobby Brown were married

for I think 15, no 14 years.

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I think that youthful attraction to each other

that like magnetic thing lasted a really long time.

But there was also a lot of difficulty

within their relationship.

When you love someone so much

and yet maybe you're not helpful

for each other in some other aspects.

It started off youthful and fiery though.

And that's, oh it's a beautiful thing.

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That iconic outfit of

beautiful Whitney and the white

red and blue track suit is from the Super Bowl.

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I remember the first look that I was like, oh

I think I was probably like, I dunno, 10,

it's not right, but it's okay.

It was the leather and it was the bob

and the dark lip and she looked fantastic.

And then there was all those women in the background.

So when I got to give it a go, that felt great.

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Seven, am I wrong?

(bell ringing)

Did I get it?

(Naomi laughing)

I think it's something everyone already knows

but it's nice to be reminded in watching the film

that she had the most beautiful voice on the planet.

Please come and watch,

"I wanna dance with somebody".

It's out in cinemas now.

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