"Sparkle" actor Omari Hardwick recalls goofing around with co-star Whitney Houston
(CBS News) Omari Hardwick, who plays Levi in the upcoming film "Sparkle," says he still can't fully wrap his mind around the fact that he worked with the late Whitney Houston.
Pictures: Whitney Houston: 1963-2012
Pictures: Whitney Houston memorial
"What I think is that one day I'll realize it," Hardwick told CBSNews.com when asked what it was like to work with pop music icon.
"To work with someone who then leaves our Earth only months after working together makes it so the moments that I've had with her will never be forgotten. But, I think I won't really know how valuable it was until years have passed."
Hardwick still remembers the moments when Houston pulled him aside to give him advice or when they just goofed around.
On the set of the film there was a lot of laughter, according to Hardwick, who says the singer was a huge practical jokester. She and Mike Epps, who plays Satin in the film, together were "hilarious," he recalls.
"Having fun was a big thing for Whitney," he said.
He remembers asking Houston to sing "You Give Good Love" while she was in the makeup chair on set.
"She leaned back into me and said, 'Omari, that was so long ago.'"
Despite her initial hesitation, she went on to sing a couple of lines. Hardwicke says it didn't sound the same as he remembered, but "she was able to do it and just laugh at herself." It's a moment he says he holds onto and even has a photo of.
When the news of Houston's death broke, Hardwick said, he was leaving a movie with family and friends in Los Angeles.
"I slumped like a little boy and just sat down. It really felt like I had received the news that a family member had passed away."
Within an hour, he said he and his close friend and cast mate Derek Luke, who plays Stix, were able to mourn Whitney together. He saw the full cast at the funeral.
Hardwick, who recently was able to see the finished film, says seeing Houston up on the big screen was great.
"It wasn't hard to watch the scenes with Whitney in it. I like to remember the beautiful woman that I goofed off with."
