Stanley Tucci Says it Was ‘A Lot of Pressure’ to Play This Music Legend
Stanley Tucci has been in many popular movies over the years. One of his most well-known works is The Hunger Games, where he played Caesar. Recently, he starred in a biopic that focuses on the life of Whitney Houston.
In the film, Tucci takes on the role of producer Clive Davis. Davis helped Houston early in her career and the pair remained close friends. He is a legend in the music industry, and Tucci felt pressure to depict him accurately in the movie.
Clive Davis helped create ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’
According to Biography, Houston enjoyed singing ever since she was a young child. While she once was on a magazine cover as a teenager, a record producer boosted her career. Davis discovered the aspiring artist in a nightclub when she was only 19.
Davis saw potential in Houston and signed her onto his label, Arista Records. The two spent a couple of years working on a debut album. Afterward, Houston found herself rising to fame as a pop star. The two became lifelong friends, and Davis became an executive producer of a recent biopic.
Davis helped produce the film Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody. The movie covers the life and career of Houston, and Naomi Ackie portrays the famous singer. Casting for the biopic took a while, but Davis settled on Ackie because managed to capture Houston’s persona. Davis also hand-picked Tucci to play him.
Stanley Tucci explains what he felt while playing Clive Davis
Davis is a renowned record producer who has won multiple awards and is an icon in the industry who has made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tucci landed the role of Davis in I Wanna Dance with Somebody and naturally felt nervous.
“You do feel pressure. One, because the person is still alive, but two, because he is such a legend, and you want to get it right,” Tucci said in an interview with Good Morning America. “To be able to talk to Clive, I learned so much. Not just about him, but about that incredible relationship.”
Other biographical movies about Whitney Houston
I Wanna Dance with Somebody is not the only biopic about Houston’s rise to great fame. In 2015, Lifetime released Whitney, which features Yaya DaCosta as Houston during the highs and lows of her life.
The movie depicts the singer’s struggles with substances and romantic partners following her rise to popularity. However, the movie received mixed reviews.
Lifetime also produced Whitney Houston & Bobbi Kristina: Didn’t We Almost Have It All, which explored the public and private lives of Houston and her daughter. The release of the movie displeased many fans who saw it as exploitative.
Though not a biopic, the 2018 documentary Whitney was well-received by critics and features interviews with family and friends, as well as archival footage that helps to tell the story of Houston’s life and career.
