There's just something about Angela Bassett. I was lucky enough to meet her, bask in her aura and breathe the same air she breathes, and I was left stunned.
It's obvious that she drinks from a fountain of youth that only she, Nia Long, Pharrell Williams, Tina Turner, Diahann Carroll and a few other black celebrities know about. But Bassett is more than ageless beauty and a fit body that will have you rethinking your entire existence. She's Hollywood royalty. She's black excellence and sheer brilliance.
She's also an incredible example of tenacity and longevity. We've seen her in more roles than we can count, including Turner, Stella and Bernadette; and now she plays Lynn Jacobs—a black woman who is the head of the Secret Service—in London Has Fallen, the sequel to the terrorizing thriller Olympus Has Fallen. Not only is this role groundbreaking (in real life), but it's also one in which Bassett was able to be her usual strong self and yet show a different side of herself. As in each role before this one, Bassett was refreshing.
We chatted about what attracted her to the role and what it was like to work with the incredible Antoine Fuqua, who directed Olympus Has Fallen. She even revealed what it was like working with Morgan Freeman and Gerard Butler. Check out the interview!