Angela Bassett says landing her next part was difficult even after her acclaimed turn as Tina Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It. Speaking with Linsey Davis for ABC News’ All Access, the actor described a Hollywood where the offers available to Black women were limited. The success of the film did not bring her a steady run of leading roles.
Bassett was discussing the years after she played Turner in the biopic. The performance made her a major star, but she said she still had to think carefully about what came next. She did not want to take a part simply because it was offered.
What did Angela Bassett say?
In a preview of the interview, Bassett put the problem plainly:
“Roles were few and far between for a woman of color.” — Angela Bassett
She was not saying she stopped working altogether. She was talking about the small number of roles that felt right for her after a movie that had drawn so much attention. Bassett also said there was pressure to choose the right follow-up rather than let that momentum fade.
The 1993 film brought Bassett major awards attention. What’s Love Got to Do With It brought Bassett a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for playing Turner. Those honors raised her profile, but they did not erase the narrow range of parts being written and cast for Black women in the early 1990s. Her frustration was about the gap between being praised and being offered another strong role.
The films that came after Tina Turner
Bassett went on to star in Waiting to Exhale in 1995 and How Stella Got Her Groove Back in 1998. Both became important films in her career. Her new comments are about the choices and dry spells between projects, not a claim that those movies never happened.
Her career later crossed film, television and major franchises. Recent audiences know her as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther and Athena Grant in 9-1-1. The ABC interview looks back at how she got from the Turner role to a career that has lasted decades.
Where to watch the conversation
All Access with Linsey Davis: Angela Bassett is available as an ABC News video. The interview was promoted for ABC News Live Prime on September 28; ABC posted the video on September 29. The preview focused on the Turner discussion, while ABC describes the full conversation as covering perseverance, current work and the moments that shaped Bassett’s career.
Bassett said the attention did not make her next choice easy. She wanted a role worth taking, and the offers she saw for women of color were scarce.
