Naomi Ackie starring in Mother

Naomi Ackie has joined the cast of 'Mother'.

The 31-year-old actress is to star in the new sci-fi movie from director Justin Kurzel and joins an ensemble that includes Laura Dern, Benedict Cumberbatch and Noah Jupe.

The film is set in a near future where society has a pill that removes the need for sleep. With the added help of an artificial sun there is no end to morning daylight, living and work. But a young generation who have grown up without sleep consider rebelling to reclaim their dreams.

'Mother' centres on Cathy (Dern), an advocate of the sleepless world, who attempts to repair her relationship with son Danny (Jupe) as she hurtles towards the anniversary of her husband Frank's (Cumberbatch) death.

However, the sleepless universe that Cathy helped to build is starting to crumble around her as Danny is being drawn into an underworld of dreamers.

Naomi – who has been nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award – said: "I'm so excited to get to work with Justin Kurzel and this incredible cast. The script is so beautifully written and the world building immaculate. I can't wait to be a part of creating this piece of work!"

The star played the iconic singer Whitney Houston in the biopic 'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' and revealed that it took her six months to feel "comfortable" speaking like the tragic music legend.

Naomi said: "There was many different elements: How do I prepare myself vocally, singing-wise? The accent work took about six months to get really comfortable with it.

"And how do I prepare myself physically? In terms of movement, I worked with my amazing friend and my movement coach, Polly Bennett, and we kind of split it all up."