‘She’s so cool, open and funny’: The Australian actor who inspired Naomi Ackie
Hand-picked to star opposite Robert Pattinson in a sci-fi comedy by the South Korean director of Parasite, the 32-year-old film star is a face to watch.
By Jane Rocca
Naomi Ackie played Whitney Houston to rave reviews, but the experience led to struggles with her mental health.Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/Warner Bros
Naomi Ackie remembers the moment Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho first approached her three years ago about starring in his new sci-fi comedy, Mickey 17.
The London-born actor had just played singer Whitney Houston in the biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, but it was her role as the vengeful Bonnie in black-comedy series The End of the F---ing World that caught the attention of Bong, the South Korean director who won the 2020 Oscar for best picture with Parasite.
“When Bong asked if I was interested in reading the script [for Mickey 17], I was like, ‘Oh my god, yes please.’ And when I did, I was blown away,” says 32-year-old Ackie, who at the time was filming Blink Twice, with Zoë Kravitz directing.
“He saw me in The End of the F---ing World, which has weirdly gotten me a lot of jobs because I play a very specific type of character.”
In Mickey 17, she plays Nasha, a young pilot navigating life on an icy planet called Niflheim who falls in love with the newest “expendable” to arrive, Mickey Barnes, played by Robert Pattinson (the film also stars Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo). Expendables are chosen for dangerous work because they can be resuscitated after death and Mickey has signed up to become an expendable on Niflheim after being made redundant from his job. It doesn’t take long for him to lock eyes with Nasha.
Each time Mickey dies, a better version of his cloned self – eventually reaching the number 17 – emerges, memories intact. Until, that is, Nasha finds herself torn between two Mickeys because one doesn’t die as planned.
The film, based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, is an existential and surreal study of the human condition that explores themes of world domination and racial superiority – and almost finds time for an outer-galactic threesome
“My impression of the storyline is that it felt faraway and yet close,” Ackie says. “The prevailing message is that everyone is worthy of respect and love, and no one is disposable. Everyone is needed to create the world we want, and even if you are at the lower end of a hierarchical society, like in Mickey 17, you have as much power as anybody else.”
Ackie says Robert Pattinson, who plays the main character and her love interest in Mickey 17, made her feel at ease on the set.Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/Warner Bros
Ackie’s Nasha is riotous and risqué, but she has a heart, too. With her portrayal, maybe Ackie is channelling the Spice Girls anthems she heard as a five-year-old, or the all-action sass and smarts of characters such as Catwoman.
One of three siblings born and raised in London, Ackie was inspired to start acting when she saw the Harry Potter films as a child. After finishing her studies at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2012, she appeared in the mystery miniseries The Five before being cast in Lady Macbeth opposite her former flatmate, Florence Pugh, in 2016.
Then came Idris Elba’s directional debut, Yardie, in 2018, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. But it took winning a BAFTA for best supporting actress in The End of the F---ing World to bring her to Hollywood’s attention and get her the role of Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
Playing Houston, who died in 2012 after battles with substance abuse, required Ackie to sing the songs, lose and gain weight, and then go back to reshoot some scenes while filming Blink Twice. Though I Wanna Dance with Somebody got only middling reviews, Ackie’s performance received widespread praise. But after filming wrapped, the film’s storyline and the pressure she felt from being its lead led to depression and panic attacks.
Three years on, Ackie sounds positive and upbeat, having swapped doom-scrolling on her phone for cooking – baking chocolate brownies is her specialty. In her spare time, she also enjoys painting – mainly abstract work inspired by Jackson Pollock. Her apartment is too small to accommodate an art studio, but she loves the meditative allure of the easel.
She says playing Nasha in Mickey 17 felt cathartic. “Nasha is someone who can fight her own fight, and is very capable with her body,” says Ackie. “The main thing for her is protecting those she loves. But there is a wildness to her, too, and she doesn’t like to follow rules. That quickly took me to places I hadn’t been before as an actor. I had to get out of my own way and tap into the part of me that doesn’t give a f---.”
She says starring alongside Pattinson was a buzz, and when I note that Pattinson seems to be channelling the voices of cartoon characters Ren and Stimpy, she says: “I can definitely hear that. It goes to show he is a genius at taking risks and can make some very cool choices.”
Naomi Ackie and Robert Pattinson in a scene from Mickey 17.
She credits the Twilight actor for making her feel at home on the set. “Working with someone who is so comfortable with their craft, like Rob, and seeing how at ease he is with his ability, gave me a sense of being at ease with mine,” she says.
Though Ackie is set to become a Jedi again in The New Jedi Order, due out in 2026, she says she’s grateful that there’s more diversity in the roles she’s being offered these days. She isn’t too focused on what comes next, but one thing is certain: she wants her career to play out like that of Mickey 17 co-star Collette.
“I’ve been a huge fan ever since I saw her in Muriel’s Wedding,” Ackie says. “She’s so cool, open and funny. I held on to the fact I was a big fan of hers for as long as I could on set, but then I went up to her and told her I had been a fan forever and that if I could have a career like hers, I would be so happy.”
Despite her busy career, Ackie has still managed to find time between roles to travel; she was in Thailand for New Year’s Eve, has revisited Mexico twice, and has plans to go to Kenya soon. “One of the biggest privileges in life is being able to travel, and I really want to do more of that.”
She also recently watched the Paris Haute Couture Spring Summer 2025 shows online and was particularly taken by the Schiaparelli and Jean Paul Gaultier collections, their theatrical eroticism and corsetry catching her eye, and she’s hoping to bring a similar racy allure to the red carpet.
Ackie (left) with her idol and co-star Toni Collette at the world premiere of Mickey 17 in London.Credit: Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures
“I am feeling more adventurous and getting braver on the red carpet,” says Ackie. “It’s like an alter ego gets to come out. I’m learning that what appears on the red carpet as Naomi Ackie the actress doesn’t have to be the style I dress in away from that.”
She credits her family for giving her the best advice. “My mum always used to say, ‘What is for you won’t pass you.’ That what is for you, is for you – whether it’s relationships, jobs or money. It’s not about what is preordained for you, more having a sense of ease about how your life unfolds.
“It’s about not holding on to that idea so tightly that you forget to appreciate other things that come your way. That’s what matters to me. If I don’t get the part, then it wasn’t meant for me – and I’ll be OK with that.”
Mickey 17 opens in cinemas March 6.
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