Tika Sumpter Used Dialect Coach to Portray Michelle Obama in 'Southside With You'

— -- Tika Sumpter is pulling double-duty as producer and co-star in "Southside with You," inspired by the first date between President Barack Obama and his future wife, Michelle (Robinson) Obama.

Sumpter, who plays Michelle in the summer of 1989, admitted that she was a bit insecure at first portraying the first lady.

"I got a dialect coach and really worked on that," she told ABC News. "And it was important for people if they closed their eyes they could really hear her and that is what was important to me."

In the end, the former "Gossip Girl" actress said the film, out today, is a first date love story that many people can relate to.

Michelle Obama through the years

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Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Alicia Keys, Michelle Obama and Jennifer Lopez speak onstage during the 61st Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center, Feb. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles. <br><br> Michelle Obama speaks to the audience during a surprise appearance at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

"Both of the characters are humanized, you're going to see Barack smoke, you're going to see the car. You're going to see them banter back and forth, challenge each other," Sumpter explained. "I think it's a great date movie."

Sumpter, 36, said that along with Parker Sawyers, who stars as the young president, the two were "really excited" to play the first family.

"We were just in the moment," Sumpter told ABC News. "And it is also when they were 25 and 28, so the pressure was just taken off -- it's not the Obamas of it all."

Sumpter, who was instrumental in bringing the film to life with writer-director Richard Tanne, said her role as co-producer wasn't easy, but it eventually clicked once the film was cast.

"It was challenging because you have to put the pieces together in order for you to even be on set, but once we found our Barack in Parker, it was great. We were on a roll," she recalled.