Angela Bassett did the thing.
This year, the screen icon became the first actor to be Oscar-nominated for a Marvel movie, playing the grieving Queen Ramonda in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." The nod comes nearly three decades after her first Oscar nomination for best actress in 1994, for her electrifying portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic "What's Love Got to Do With It."
Returning to the Oscars after 29 years, Bassett, 64, has one of the longest gaps between nominations for Hollywood stars. But she's delivered no shortage of captivating performances in the time since, with dynamic film roles in "Sunshine State," "Waiting to Exhale" and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," and memorable TV turns in Fox's "9-1-1" and FX's "American Horror Story." She's also inspired the next generation of actors, with Ariana DeBose name-checking Bassett in her now-viral rap about powerhouse women.
If Bassett could tell her younger self anything, "I'd probably say, 'Just hang in there, girl,' " she says with a laugh. " 'Take care of yourself, be grateful and just don't give up. It's going to be a long time coming maybe, but keep it all in perspective. It's only doing good work that's going to potentially get you there (again).' "
'One of the closest best supporting actress races' in history
In "Wakanda Forever," a sequel to 2018's best picture-nominated "Black Panther," Ramonda struggles to find a way forward after the death of her son, T'Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman). She fiercely leads the nation of Wakanda while also trying to protect her daughter, Shuri (Letitia Wright), who reluctantly takes up the mantle of Black Panther from her superhero sibling.
When "we are up against something that's incredibly difficult, we have a choice: whether it will defeat us or whether we will find a way out of the darkness and back to ourselves," Bassett says. "I'm always interested in the juxtaposition of the vulnerable and the strong, and how they live together. (Ramonda) definitely possesses that."
Bassett says she "absolutely" felt the weight of expectation going into "Wakanda Forever," after Boseman's shocking death from colon cancer in 2020. But the sequel, which puts female characters at the center, was embraced by both moviegoers and awards voters, netting $858.5 million at the global box office and five Oscar nominations.
Bassett was once considered the Oscar front-runner for her soul-baring work in the film, earning best supporting actress prizes at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. But she now faces stiff competition from fellow nominees Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) and Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), who triumphed in the category at the British Academy Film Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards, respectively.
"While her losses at SAG and BAFTA are disappointing, there is no denying the powerful work Bassett is doing here," says Ryan McQuade, executive editor of AwardsWatch. "In one of the closest best supporting actress races we've had in Academy Awards history, her legendary status, decades of versatile work and long-overdue narrative still has enough power to push her over the top."
'It really is about the spirit of never giving up'
Oscar nominations morning was, by all accounts, a regular workday for Bassett, who stars in the sixth season of the crime procedural "9-1-1." She didn't text Rihanna, a best original song nominee for "Wakanda Forever" theme "Lift Me Up." ("I don't have her digits in my phone!") Nor did she go out and celebrate with her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance, and their twins Bronwyn and Slater, 17.
"I had to take them to school and go to work, so that kept me really grounded," Bassett says. She credits Vance for his unwavering support: accompanying her to awards shows and sweetly filming her acceptance speeches on his smartphone.
"He was supportive before the whirlwind," Bassett says. "He always trusted and believed that a nomination like this might one day happen for me."
One of the highlights of Oscar season has been simply mingling with her fellow nominees – actors like herself who have "labored in the vineyard" for decades, she says. "When I think of my girl Michelle Yeoh and it being her first nomination, it really is about the spirit of never giving up."
After years of "just waiting" for opportunities to come her way, she's now creating them with Vance and their joint company Bassett Vance Productions. And although Ramonda's chapter closes in "Wakanda Forever," no one is ever truly gone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Has she heard from director Ryan Coogler about a third "Black Panther?"
"It's a little too early for that," Bassett says with a grin. "As big as this movie was, and the depths he had to go to bring a satisfying story to the screen, I hope he's somewhere lying in the sun with a nice, cool drink in his hand."
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