The actor has critical acclaim but no mainstream success.
She hopesBlink Twicechanges that.
Blink Twiceis in theaters August 23.
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I meet the actressNaomi Ackieoutside Angel Station in North London on a balmy July afternoon.
As we talk, she smoothly navigates by the bikes whizzing past us and coos at cute dogs.
This neighborhood feels good for her soul, she says.
I dont think Ill ever leave.
Kravitzs direction is solid, but its Ackie who truly sells the movie.
Her face is a kaleidoscope of emotion from the first frame, her eyes full of eerie conviction.
Im still breaking through, she says.
We reach the end of the canal path and head to a swanky gastropub in London Fields.
I love this place, she says, although she cant remember the name of it.
She sinks into her chair and orders us gin-and-tonics.
She always knew she wanted to be an actress: There were no other options in my head!
She got into the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama after college.
It wasnt easy; by Ackies last year, she was one of the only Black students left.
Ackie once thought there would be a seminal moment when her career transformed overnight.
She believed playing Whitney Houston might be that opportunity.
But it was a solitary experience, and she became intense in a not-nice way, Ackie says.
I had to apologize to my family afterward; I was just so weird.
She was afraid that as a Black woman, she would never have such a chance again.
No one should feel like that as an artist.
We should always feel like theres a limitless abundance of creativity.
Hes highly respected, everyone asks him the real questions.
But afterWhitney,she says, nothing happened.
She has a more practical view of her career now.
Acting is just my job, she says.
I read the script in no more than an hour and a half, she says.
The variety of emotion in one character has always been the thing I crave.
Thats when going into work doesnt feel like work.
Shes got such an amazing, incredible insight into how she likes to tell stories, Ackie says.
Kravitz first heard about Ackie from her casting director.
Her talent just oozes out of her in this way that is so easy.
Next year, Ackie will co-star in Bong Joon HosMickey 17alongside Robert Pattinson.
Working with Pattinson was also a highlight.
Hes so cool, man, she says.
The choices he makes on-camera, Ive never quite seen anything like it.
Shes reached a sense of equilibrium in general about her career.
Whether these films will catapult her into the next echelon of fame is no longer a chief concern.
Shed rather fully commit to each role like the actors she respects.
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