See Naomi Ackie Become Whitney Houston in 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' Trailer, First Photos

Naomi Ackie admits she was "very" nervous to play the "incredible, multifaceted" Whitney Houston.

"She's been elevated in my life for so long that it felt like an impossible thing to achieve at times," she tells PEOPLE. "But so many people told me the same thing: If I wasn't scared and nervous, they'd think something was wrong with me. ... The biggest challenge was letting my fear of the magnitude of this task take a back seat. Nothing good comes from sitting in fear for too long."

Ackie, 30, stars as the late singer in the upcoming biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody. PEOPLE has an exclusive first look and trailer for the film, which hits theaters Dec. 21.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday.

Read more: https://people.com/movies/naomi-ackie-whitney-houston-biopic-i-wanna-dance-with-somebody-exclusive/