Marisa Abela kept respect at the centre of Amy Winehouse portrayal in Back to Black

Marisa Abela had to do "justice" to Amy Winehouse in 'Back to Black'.

The 27-year-old star plays the late singer in Sam Taylor-Johnson's biopic and said that respect for the 'Tears Dry on Their Own' artist was at the heart of her performance – particularly when she got to met Winehouse's parents Mitch and Janis on set.

Speaking at the movie's world premiere in London on Monday (08.04.24), Marisa said: "Once I was on set I was really trying to stay focused on the job at hand because at the end of the day the most important thing is that we try and do justice to Amy in this film.

"It requires a lot of respect and a lot of empathy and understanding of the intricacies around that moment.

"What I saw when I met Amy's parents were people that were grieving and, especially if I was in hair and makeup already, it was just about being respectful."

Marisa also reflected on the "nerve-wracking moment" that she got to adopt Amy's famous beehive hairstyle for the first time as she had spent a considerable amount of "internal" time preparing to mimic the look.

She explained: "It was a nerve-wracking moment because I had done so much internal work and suddenly here it was externally. I had my eyes closed for a lot of it but it was amazing and you really felt the weight of it but it just pushed me on even more to continue the work that I was doing as an actor."