Belizean actor Arlen Escarpeta, who plays Daryl in the tornado thriller, "Into the Storm," has gone from portraying a professional storm-chasing cameraman to bad boy Bobby Brown in the Whitney Houston TV biopic , "I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story."

Escarpeta, who spoke to Latin Post this week, is wrapping up press for his latest film, "Into the Storm," which hit theaters this weekend. He has been in production, opposite "America's Next Top Model" runner-up (Cycle 3) Yaya DaCosta, who portrays Houston. R&B singer Deborah Cox will provide the vocals. 

The Houston biopic is expected to focus mainly on the singer's life in the early-to-mid '90s, highlighting her rise to super-stardom involving her singing career and her acting performance in the 1992 romantic drama "The Bodyguard," the soundtrack to which helped launch Houston into the manstream.

Houston and Brown met in 1989, were married in 1992, and their daughter, Bobbi Kristina, was born the following year. The celebrity couple's tumultuous marriage, which came to an end in 2007, involved drug abuse, infidelity and unhealthy arguments, which were exposed in the reality TV show, "Being Bobby Brown." (Brown reportedly hasn't been feeling well and dropped out of the New Edition concert tour due to medical reasons.)

The Houston biopic, which has been heavily criticized by Houston's mother, Cissy Houston, as well as her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown (who reportedly took to Twitter to share her sentiments), is being directed by Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning actress-turned-director Angela Bassett.

Despite the criticism, Escarpeta says he thinks the project honors the incredibly talented singer's memory.

"I really do feel like it does do her justice, and at the same time, I do understand their reservations," Escarpeta told The Hollywood Reporter. "That's close to home. That's family. You have to respect family when it comes to matters of the heart. Respect to those guys absolutely. I understand that you do want to keep a bit of distance. If and when they do see the film, they'll see it came from a place of love."

Bassett is best known for her portrayal of Tina Turner in "What's Love Got to Do with It," where she gave a stellar performance and got in incredible shape for the intense role. The actress and director has also taken on other biographical film roles portraying real-life women, including Betty Shabazz in "Malcolm X" and "Panther," Rosa Parks in "The Rosa Parks Story," Coretta Scott King in "Betty and Coretta," and Voletta Wallace in "Notorious." 

Bassett also touched upon the life of another pop star that sadly died too young like Houston -- Michael Jackson. She starred in "The Jacksons: An American Dream" as Katherine Jackson.

"Angela Bassett is such a phenomenal director ... and to tell that story from the inside out was a pleasure," Escarpeta told THR. "We shot the film with love, we approached it with love and I really feel like we have something special there. Yaya (DaCosta) did a phenomenal job ... I have no complaints. I'm truly head over heels just blessed and happy."

"America's Next Top Model" mentor Tyra Banks, who appeared on "Watch What Happens Live!" gushed over DeCosta's acting and portrayal of Houston.

"She is killing it! She has been in academy-nominated movies, she has been in scenes with Oprah in 'The Butler,' and now she was chosen to play Whitney Houston in a biopic. So this is insane and huge for me," Banks said to host Andy Cohen. "Yaya, I am super proud of you. You won the acting challenge on 'America's Next Top Model' back in the day so we knew that there was something special."

You can check out Escarpeta's performance in "Into the Storm," in theaters now. "I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story" is reportedly scheduled to premiere early next year.