Actress Nafessa Williams talks key role in Whitney Houston biopic

ATLANTA - You know the hit songs, and you know the voice. But how much do you really know about the life of the incomparable Whitney Houston?

Audiences are about to find out, thanks to the highly anticipated biopic "Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody," which opens in theaters nationwide this week.

The film stars Naomi Ackie as Houston, tracing the late singer’s rise from her childhood in New Jersey to her record-breaking career as a singer and actress. Along with highlighting the timeless music — including hits like "I Will Always Love You," "Saving All My Love For You," and "How Will I Know" — the film also delves into Houston’s personal relationship with longtime friend Robyn Crawford. "Black Lightning" star Nafessa Williams plays Crawford in the film.

"At the most purest level, they were friends," says Williams of Houston and Crawford. "At the core of it, they just really loved and adored each other and were very, very loyal to each other. I would say soulmates."

Williams says Crawford’s 2019 bestselling book "A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston" proved extremely helpful in preparing to play the real person on-screen.

"It was really all I had, because there’s not a lot of footage of Robyn," says Williams. "But I think not being able to find footage of her speaks to the character of who she was. She wasn’t trying to be in front of the camera. She played her part. And her part was always being right beside or behind Whitney, always making sure she was protecting her."

For more information on the film, click here. And click the video player in this article to hear more from Nafessa Williams.