Angela Bassett on Presidential Role in Netflix's "Zero Day"

Summary

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist Episode Summary

Episode: Angela Bassett on Presidential Role in Netflix's "Zero Day"
Release Date: March 2, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of NBC's "Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist," host Willie Geist sits down with the acclaimed actress Angela Bassett to delve into her latest role as the President of the United States in Netflix's highly anticipated series, "Zero Day." The conversation navigates through Angela's illustrious career, her experiences working alongside legends like Robert De Niro, and her reflections on impactful roles such as Queen Ramonda in "Black Panther."

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Exploring "Zero Day"

"Zero Day" is a gripping six-part series that imagines the aftermath of a massive cyber attack on the United States. Angela Bassett portrays the President who must navigate the chaos and lead the nation through unprecedented turmoil. Willie Geist expresses his excitement about the series, highlighting its star-studded cast, including Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, and Connie Britton.

Angela shares her enthusiasm for the project:

"It's an offer I could absolutely not say no to. Working with Leslie Linker Glatter and Robert on this incredibly well-written series was a no-brainer for me." (04:07)

She discusses the complexity of playing a world leader in crisis:

"This is a role I've never taken on before. You have to instill confidence in others to navigate through the catastrophe." (04:42)

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Angela's Journey in Acting

Angela reminisces about her early days in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she was a standout student and active in various school activities. Her passion for acting ignited after watching a powerful performance of "Of Mice and Men" at the Oslo Theater, leading her to perform scenes from "A Raisin in the Sun" with her schoolmates.

Reflecting on her academic pursuits:

"I went to Yale for my undergraduate degree and then pursued a Master’s in Fine Arts from the famed School of Drama, where I met my husband, Courtney B. Vance." (06:15)

She emphasizes the importance of mentorship in her development:

"Lloyd Richards was a tremendous point of inspiration for me. His guidance helped me deepen my understanding of theater and acting." (19:18)

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Breaking Through in Hollywood

Angela discusses her breakout role in "What's Love Got to Do With It," where she portrayed Tina Turner. Despite winning a Golden Globe and receiving an Oscar nomination, Angela candidly explains the challenges she faced in finding diverse roles post-breakout.

"Even after such a powerful performance, there weren't many parts for people like me. It was a testament to the industry's limited scope at the time." (06:15)

Her perseverance paid off with subsequent successes like "Stella Got Her Groove Back" and her role in "Black Panther." She highlights the evolving landscape of Hollywood, where diverse stories began to gain prominence:

"A tide began to turn, and we started getting more stories that included women of color, which was essential for representation." (31:08)

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Collaboration with Robert De Niro

Working with Robert De Niro on "Zero Day" marks Angela's first foray into series with the legendary actor. She describes the experience as both nerve-wracking and rewarding:

"Robert was as generous on set as he is legendary. It was amazing to share scenes with someone I’ve admired for so long." (09:35)

Angela also shares a heartwarming moment from their collaboration:

"He brought up a special memory about me being his escort during my first honorary doctorate at Howard, which was incredibly thoughtful and reminded me of our shared journey." (37:29)

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Impactful Roles and Legacy

Angela reflects on her role as Queen Ramonda in "Black Panther" and the legacy of Chadwick Boseman:

"Working with Chadwick was a blessing. He was such a soulful and wise individual, and his presence on set was truly inspiring." (37:02)

She discusses the cultural impact of "Black Panther," noting its success and the global appreciation it received:

"It was satisfying to see the film transcend demographics, resonating with audiences from ages 4 to 94. It truly was a phenomenon." (35:07)

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Personal Reflections and Gratitude

Throughout the conversation, Angela emphasizes the importance of remembering one's roots and remaining grateful for the journey:

"I have pinch-me moments every day. Being grateful for where I came from fosters appreciation for every opportunity and lesson learned along the way." (41:12)

She shares touching anecdotes about meeting mentors and inspirations, highlighting the enduring impact of their support on her career:

"Meeting Cicely Tyson for the first time was a pivotal moment. Her warmth and grace set the tone for a fulfilling collaboration." (39:18)

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Conclusion

Willie Geist concludes the episode by expressing his gratitude for Angela's insightful and heartfelt conversation. He encourages listeners to stream "Zero Day" on Netflix and stay tuned for more in-depth interviews with notable figures in news and pop culture.

Angela Bassett leaves listeners with a message of perseverance and gratitude, underscoring the importance of continuous growth and appreciation for one's journey in the arts.

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Notable Quotes:

• "This is a role I've never taken on before. You have to instill confidence in others to navigate through the catastrophe." — Angela Bassett (04:42)
• "Lloyd Richards was a tremendous point of inspiration for me. His guidance helped me deepen my understanding of theater and acting." — Angela Bassett (19:18)
• "I have pinch-me moments every day. Being grateful for where I came from fosters appreciation for every opportunity and lesson learned along the way." — Angela Bassett (41:12)

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Listen to the full conversation here.

Transcript

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Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit down podcast. My thanks as always for clicking and and listening along. I am so excited to bring you my conversation today with one of my favorite actresses and one of the most accomplished actresses in all of Hollywood. She is the great Angela Bassett. She's starring as the President of the United States in the buzzed about new Netflix series Zero Day which stars Robert De Niro. It follows the aftermath of a massive devastating cyber attack in the United States and what would happen if something like that took place now. So she plays President of the United States when this happens and she calls in a former President of the United States, Robert De Niro, to lead the investigation. Super gripping six part series. De Niro's first ever series that he's participated in. Great cast. Jesse Plemons is in it. Connie Britton's in it. Has a really, really good cast and a great kind of gripping storyline. So we get into that and we get into her backstory. She was raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. Superstar, straight A student, student government drama club cheerleader. She did it all, went on to Yale where she got her undergraduate degree and then her Master's in Fine Arts from the famed School of Drama where she also by the way met her husband, the actor Courtney B. Vance. Started on the stages of New York before moving west to Hollywood. My favorite movie of all time, or maybe one of them is Boys in the Hood. She played the mother of Trey, who was played by Cuba Gooding Jr. In the movie. I loved her in that so much is the first time I noticed her and she says it was really her first big role and then they started to come from that. Breakout is 1993. She plays Tina Turner in what's Love Got to Do With It. But interesting to hear discuss that that didn't necessarily open all the doors of Hollywood for her, despite the fact she won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar. You'll hear her talk about it. There just weren't parts for people like her and she gets into that. And then comes Stella Got Her Groove Back and movies that sort of she plugged into had massive success and then her career went off from there. Obviously we got to talk about her playing Queen Ramonda in Black Panther and we talk about the late Chadwick Boseman, what that was like for her as well. You remember she was nominated for an Academy Award a couple of years ago for the sequel of Black Panther. So so much to talk about with really. Just so smart and so wise and so great. Excited to bring you my conversation right now with Angela Bassett on the Sunday Sit down podcast.

[Angela Bassett]

It's so nice to meet you, Angela. I'm such a huge fan of yours. I was just telling you, going back to Boyz n the hood in 91 all the way to this incredible new series. So thank you for doing this.

Thank you. You're welcome.

So let's start at the end of that timeline with this unbelievable new Netflix series called Zero Day, which centers around a cyber attack in the United States. You play the President of the United States in. When you heard the premise and you heard Robert De Niro is in it, was it an easy yes for you?

Absolutely. You know, it had. It's an offer I could absolutely could not, could not say no to. And as well the director, Leslie Linker Glatter, who's, you know, we know her work from Homeland and other things and she's. I worked with her years ago as well on a show called er.

Yes, I've heard of it. Yes.

So she's wonderful. Get an opportunity to even work with her with Robert on this incredibly well written six part series as president. Oh my.

So what do you think when they say and you're going to be President of the United States?

Oh, Lord. Well, this is a role I've never done taken on before. You think it would be easy, but not quite. It just felt like this fine line that you have to walk of, you know, of being calm, of not in the face of not knowing a lot of needing great deal of counsel. I mean, because you have to keep others, you know, instill confidence in others that will make it through whatever the catastrophe or the danger is.

You've played so many powerful, authoritative women, whether it's a queen or the head of the CIA or the director of the Secret Service. Is that a kind of role that you like to step into?

You know, it. It just at some point began to happen that I guess I come across as, you know, someone with authority or assurance or presence, you know, or grounded. And it began to happen. Sometimes these roles, you know, early on when it started, sometimes there's not a lot of their backstory, their history. Do they have a family? Do they have children? Where do you go to school? You know, what are the issues that they're dealing with. But I was, you know, to be able. So you want to put someone in there that is like, oh, there's something going on behind the eyes. There is a life. She knows more than I know. So it's sort of like it's unscripted or unwritten. But we as the audience have to feel that, you know, there's more to her than just the words she's saying right now.

You can see the humanity in her as the show plays out. So I mentioned that this is about a cyber attack. Without giving too much away, cyber attack.

That takes place across the whole of the nation of the United states simultaneously for 60, you know, for a straight hour, causes so much death, you know, so many fatalities, so much chaos, mayhem. There's uncertainty, and then on the phone, there's a message that everyone receives that's mysterious and it's sort of foreboding as well, because now we know that it's intentional. I mean, we really. We're being told that, yes, you were targeted. Absolutely.

Part of the reason I think it works too, and it's so unsettling is because it does feel like something, I hate to say that could happen. Right. I mean, there's some. We hear about cyber attacks and all the ways that cyber is being used in terms of warfare. Do you think, as you.

A lot of time in the Situation Room?

I guess, yes. As you read this script, did you sort consider the real world implications of our lives being so connected to tech?

I would for a moment. And then I get a lot of anxiety. My solar plexus especially, as we sat around doing the read through and we're talking about it. And our writers, Nora Oppenheim and Eric Newman, are very smart guys. I mean, at least they present it to you with a bit of a. A wink, a smile, an assurance. But it's like at some point, for me, it Was like, okay, stop.

Sure.

I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna leave right now.

Yeah. It just doesn't seem that outlandish. I can see how we could get to this terrifying place pretty easily.

So much dependence, you know, on our technology.

I'm curious, given all the amazing jobs you've had and the movies you've done and your successful TV series, do you like this format, which is six episodes? It's a series, but has a cinematic quality. It feels like six movies. Do you like, enjoy this?

Absolutely. I was talking to one of the. To the. One of our cast members last night was saying it's almost too beautiful and big and cinematic a story for my little television. So I was happy to be able to see it on a big screen. As big a screen as possible. It is. And I like having the opportunity over the course of six episodes to really impact the story. Slowly. Nothing's rushed because sometimes, you know, if you're within okay in the first act, this has to happen second act, third resolve for that conclusion, you know, so it takes us time, takes more time to unpack and get to know the characters. And there's so many interesting characters, you know, within the series and they all have their motives and their intentions and their stories. So you're like, do I follow this guy? Yeah, yeah, he's my guy. Wait a minute. But they're all making great and, you know, great substantial points that make sense.

Yeah.

Until they don't.

Right, right. It all fits into that matrix. You have worked with Robert before, but what was it like at this stage of both of your careers? Just such well regarded actors. What was it like to work with him?

Oh, it was wonderful. You know, still a little bit of nerves because. The legend and the man. Exactly. But he was just as generous on screen, off screen, warm, engaging, curious, you know, in terms of, you know, working on the scene, working through the scene. But it was amazing. And you know, so I've come along since then, being the young actor 25 years ago. You know, I've been making my little steps on this journey. So it was great to meet as sitting and former president was like.

And he has said such great things about working with you too, which must be so gratifying to have reached that point where he's honored to be sharing scenes with you as well.

You know, told him yesterday. Thanks. Thanks for bringing me along in this journey because I worked with him once. I mean, that's a dream come true. Right. For any of us actors, but twice.

To get to do it again. Yeah, yeah.

Did a favor is the.

You mentioned you like the format. I think De Niro said this project was like swimming the English Channel, which is. It was a big achievement, but it is like kind of six movies and he's used to just doing his film and that's it.

Yeah, this is his first.

Grueling in some way. Were you able to help him through it or share any advice?

You know, I think Leslie, our director and, you know, everyone, the whole crew, we really took our time with it. You know, I do a 18 episode series and we really go at it. At it. Maybe we get, you know, four days Thanksgiving off, a little bit of Christmas, but we continually go at it and sometimes if it's. If it's all you. And some episodes are, you know, you know, demand my character to be there every day. You feel it in your bones by the end of seven days. But we really took our time with this and didn't rush it to that degree, but over. Over six months. So I guess it was like six separate movies for him. No matter what I'm trying to say, you know, we brought it easy, but.

No, you're like, come work on a weekly show. I'll show you what grueling looks like. Is it gratifying, Angela, to hear these early reviews of the series that people who have had the chance to see it say, this is one of the best shows to come along in a long time? That's got to feel great.

It really is. It really is. I've gotten a chance to, you know, talk with some people who've seen a number of the episodes and just their, you know, excitement, exuberance and it's. And curiosity and no, I don't want to give it away, but, you know, I had such fear and anxiety and, you know, the head's going back to see that response. You don't get that, you know, you don't get that often.

Well, you all were nice enough to give me a sneak peek and I made it through four episodes and there are six. And I have to say, I don't want to. I love my daughter, but I was like, oh, do I have to go to her basketball game? I really would like to finish this show. I did go to the basketball game, so I have two waiting for me on the other side of this. So congratulations on it.

Thank you.

[Willie Geist]

Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Angela Bassett right after the break.

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Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with Angela Bassett.

[Angela Bassett]

Wanted to ask you also, just people love you so much about like the foundation and the, the roots of your acting career, which is you were born in New York, didn't live here very long, moved to North Carolina for a short spell, then to Florida. So at what point, Angela, does performance and acting come into your life?

Oh, yeah. As a little 15 year old girl who was writing her D Day, you know, attempting to express herself because no one understands, especially parents. We know that, you know, and parents, teachers, you know, whatever's going on in the world. And I had an opportunity through this program that I was involved in to go to the theater, to the Oslo Theater in Sarasota, Florida, to the Kennedy center when we would have our, you know, when they would have the national meetings of this group called Upward Bound. And it was, it was there that I sat in the audience and saw this phenomenal performance of Mice and Men. And I was so moved by it at the end that I was literally the only person sitting in the theater weeping, crying as the ushers are cleaning up programs. And I Was like, I feel terrible. If I could make people feel as bad as I do right now, how would that be? And so returned home and. And just started trying to do that. What I saw, you know, recreate what I saw on the stage. And, you know, my school had a drama program that didn't do any theater, any drama, any plays. We didn't have, I guess, the structure to do it. But I said, well, we can do scenes, right? Maybe everyone just go and find a scene and we're supposed to string it together and we can have a night of something. And I went to my great grandmother and borrowed one of her dresses and I did a Raisin in the sun, you know, Mama. And the audience, you know, applause and oohs and ahs. It was like, it sort of scares you for a moment, like. And I said, well, let me continue. I felt so. I was nerve wracked, but it felt great at the end when you heard the applause. And I. I kept at it, even going on to college. And I remember one of my teachers said, oh, you got into Yale, Angela. They really know that their theater programs. And I had no idea. But even in undergrad, because that theater studies program literally began the day I stepped on campus. It was the graduate school. So I had my eye on there because I just wanted to get all the techniques that I could, because I knew nothing except how I felt when I watch theater or when I'm on the stage.

You're a star high school student, right? I mean, you're in theater, in the choir, but also student government and your cheerleader and one of those people, all of that, right? No, but it's so interesting. I mean, you got into and attended Yale without theater in the back of your mind, so that was just purely academic for you. And then almost accidentally, I just happened.

To be in the right place. Yes.

Wow. Wow. And so what did you find up there that really allowed you to sort of elevate your interest and love for production and theater and the things that you do?

Exciting. It was just an exciting moment and time. I was an undergrad, and they have the, you know, different houses, and each house had its own. Own stage, you know, little stage. So you had all of this opportunity, and there were other students who were like, theater geeks. You found a tribe, and it's like, these are some interesting people, and they have fun and I have fun with them. And, you know, and who knows, I was able to soak up a lot of that. They've been doing it much longer than I had. But Also, when it was time to apply to graduate school, a wonderful, wonderful man, Lloyd Richards, who directed the, directed Race in the in the sun on Broadway, first African American play on Broadway by Lorraine Hansberry, was the director of the school, became the director of the school, and I was a part of his first class. And so he was always such a, you know, a point of inspiration for me. Even just walking by his plate glass window, seeing him behind the desk, because I was too nervous to say, hi, Lloyd, like everyone else, Mr. Richards, or hello or nothing. But he was such a supporter of mine, and I just found such inspiration in the history. As I began to learn the history of theater and acting, just got more involved in it.

It's funny, almost every successful performer I talk to has someone like that in their story, which is a teacher, whether it was in third grade or in college, who says, hang on a second, you're really good at this. Keep going. So I love hearing those stories. So when you get out of Yale.

And he would say, angela, don't wave the rubber chicken. It's like, oh. Oh, I think, yeah.

What did you take that to mean?

Well, you know, you can't. They're, you know, in the course of acting, acting a scene, sometimes you can telegraph what you're feeling.

Right.

Basically overactive.

Good advice.

Yes. And that's all he would say. He would say things like that. That's the way he would direct. And you would have to take it in and consider it. It's not going to lay it all out. You know, you finish a scene, you say, so what'd you think? And you would have to think, and a lot. And maybe sometimes you'd be more critical of yourself than someone telling you what they saw or did not see.

Right.

You could. You were. I guess, in a way, you know, it's. It's really sinking in what you did, because you have to express it or find it. You rarely said, oh, it's perfect. Yeah, you never said that.

Right.

Because it never is right. It's always striving.

Right. Get better every time now. Right.

You know what I know.

Yeah, that's right. I mean, the early years of after school, coming to New York and going out to LA a little bit, you know, for people who see you now, they know it wasn't all red carpets and glamor at the beginning. It's a grind. Right. So were you ever discouraged in those early years?

Stand outside of the theaters. You know, you wait for people to come out, they drop a program, you get the program, you go in you don't know what the first act was, but that second act, everybody's on fire. So, you know, that's how you saw theater in those days, called second acting.

Right.

Enjoy that.

Good tip.

Yeah. But you're in New York. You're doing, I would call it off off Broadway. No pay showcase. You know, you were almost in New Jersey. You were so far off Broadway on the Avenues. But it was, you know, you're doing We's Antigone. You know, it's thrilling. You know, it's thrilling. You do it anywhere. You do it. You do it for free. You hope not for long, but in those early days, you. $12, you were like, you know, sure, yeah, you're doing it. Subway tokens, gas.

Yeah. So what was the first job, Angela, where you felt like, okay, maybe not I've made it yet, but this is going to be my career.

You know, it's funny. Every job felt like I made it. If you were cast, even if it was off off Broadway. No Pace Showcase, but as Antigone. And Antigone, I made it some. You know, I got cast in that role. So it's wonderful. It's work every day, exciting work with exciting collaborators and creative people. Wherever it was, you know, whether it was uptown in the church basement at the Y, you know, a little theater way on 12th Avenue. Every job, every role, every opportunity, you know, to work, to work at the craft, to develop a character, it just opened my eyes and my heart even more.

And then Hollywood calls. Were the movie.

Well, Hollywood didn't call?

No, someone called.

I had to go and knock a hall, you know.

You called Hollywood?

Yeah, it was during that time where it seemed like a lot of. A lot of actors in New York, they were heading out, heading west, going to Hollywood. And a lot of. And some actors would say, well, I'm not going to Hollywood. They're going to have to come and find me. And I thought, well, they don't know I'm here. And by the time the role that I would be offered is, you know, is up on the boards, they can cast with someone that's already in Hollywood. So I've got to go. I've got to go to them, introduce myself. And that's what I decided to do. Okay. Had a great apartment, you know, rent control apartment. They were hard to come. $215, you know, you weren't trying to lose that. You're trying to hang on to that. But sometimes you can't hang on to something that's good and yet go for something that's better. You got to let that go so that you'd be available for the next opportunity. So I went out there, I went out there and said, okay, six months. I'm gonna give it six months this pilot season where all the new shows and maybe I'll get lucky with one of them. Well, they canceled pilot season that year. You know, there's always sometimes, you know, strikes and moments occur. So timing is everything. But I did stick around for six months and began to guest, you know, generate some excitement, a new face, new energy, I think, coming into the room that they hadn't seen. And I was fortunate enough to get some of these, you know, get my share of some of these jobs. And six months, my six month period came up and I remember calling my great uncle in New York and Uncle Charles and I said, honk. I mean, I'm working. I mean, each week I get a new guest star. There are only three stations, so there's a finite number. It's going to run out at some point. We didn't have all this Netflix, Hulu. We have all the opportunity that we have now to catch the middle of everything. But I said, it's six months, I gotta come back to my apartment. Everything he said, like Lloyd Richards, you know, those succinct phrases. He said, baby, don't get off a winning horse. I said, got it, uncle hung up. And I've been there 30 something years.

So he gets an assist for all that's happened since then.

You did the work, my dear uncle, don't get off a winning horse.

That is a great line.

And I was, yeah, I got to come back to my apartment, my life, I'm, I'm from New York. Yeah.

And he was right.

And he was absolutely right.

He was right. So Boys in the Hood comes along soon after that, a couple years later. When John Singleton puts that together, it's, see, Boys in the Hood came out in 91.

91. Okay. I went to LA in 88. Okay, October 10, 1988. I don't remember many dates, but for some reason I remember that one. It was monumental. So I go there, like I said, I'm doing lots of, you know, day player here, guest spot here, small row there, but no film. And I get a call finally because at that time, where actors were segmented, if you were a television actor, you're doing television and, you know, casting for films, they sort of wouldn't see you, see you take you that seriously for that. I guess they, you know, familiarity breeds what? I don't know, you're too familiar. I don't, I don't know the thinking, but I wonder if that played something into. If you could see someone every week, if you wanted to really go out to the theater and page to see them. But a young director, John singleton, who was 19, just recently out of USC with this fabulous script, Boys in the Hood, he did see me. He didn't have those preconceived notions about actors doing this, that and the other. And so I went in and the rapport was immediate and warm. And he said, you remind me my mother. We talked about poets that we, that we enjoyed in common. He was just a thoughtful, warm soul, funny guy. And you felt. I felt very maternal toward him in a way. Well, yeah. Toward you as well.

No, but for a 19 year old to put together a cast of you and Laurence Fishburne and Ice Cube and Cuba Gooding Jr. That's gone on to.

Become this classic Neil and Tyra Farrell.

Exactly, exactly. Incredible group that he assembled in that movie. I think it's fair to say, and you'll correct me if I'm wrong, that what's Love Got to do with it was the. She's here now.

Right. Because up to that point, if I were in something, I would, you know, go to Kinko's. We don't have Kinko's anymore, do we? Go to Kinko's. Get a, get a cardboard. Hi. Hi, family. Hi, friends. I'm going to be on cbs, abc, NBC, on this night at this time in this show, I would cut it in fours and then I put your name and a stamp and I mail it, mail it out to my friends so they wouldn't miss it. And maybe I should do that today. And people. So if you knew me and I sent you a little, you know, mailer, then you, then you knew me. But you couldn't put the. I, I would think the, the name with the face. But when what's Love Happened, you know, before then. But you look a little familiar. Do you. But when Once Love Happened, it sort of, it changed everything. Yeah.

Because you're a leading actor and it was such a powerful performance. People said, who was that? Right.

If you didn't know me, you certainly knew her. Yeah, people knew her. All kinds of people knew her and were interested in her as a performer, had seen her. And here's a story about her life. And this is the life. It was so different from what anyone could have expected. So it, it really was quite a breakthrough and a seminal moment for me, for my career, for the culture for, for people who were experiencing those same sort of things in their life. And it was could have for many a turning point, a wake up call, you know, an opportunity to say, no, this is what I want. So it was sort of all came together.

[Willie Geist]

Stick around for more of my conversation with Angela Bassett right after a quick break.

[Angela Bassett]

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[Willie Geist]

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Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Angela Bassett.

[Angela Bassett]

It was a breakthrough. Obviously you get the awards and the recognition that you deserved for it. But I was interested to read that you said it wasn't like the phone was ringing off the hook after that necessarily. In other words, you would have thought like the world is yours after a performance like that. But that wasn't necessarily the case. Is that right?

Not necessarily, you know, because also you have to think or remember that during that time, what, what stories were being told and did those stories include, you know, a brown skinned girl or a woman, young woman at that time was cast and going to be colorblind. You know, certainly an actor can do a role, but Those, if I'm a part of a family, you know, there's other considerations, you know, and it. But then a tide began to turn, and we began to have a lot of stories, whether it was Tina, then it was Rosa Parks or Coretta Scott Kingle, Incredible women or even the Jacksons. So families where, yes, they needed a mother, they needed a mother, they needed someone who looked like me. So timing is everything. And stories, diverse stories were beginning to be told, and I was born at the right time to be available.

And among those was this explosion of successful movies like How Stella Got Her Groove Back and movies that you starred in with ensemble.

Certain books were, yeah, Terry McMillan came on the scene, We're Waiting to Exhale. And now Stella Got Her Groove Back, Invisible Acts, and, And. And so, you know, you're looking. That's what you need, a great script and a lot of times from great books. So that was. I remember writing on the subway in New York City and literally seeing everyone with her book, waiting to excel, reading her book. I said, that's going to be. That's going to be successful. I think that one's going to work.

Did that feel to you, like, finally, like, here are the roles that we've been waiting for. And gratifying that they were so successful.

Here's the opportunity. Here's the opportunity. You don't know if it's going to be successful or not. You certainly, you know, go in, you know, with that idea, with that plan, but it takes so many moving parts. It's amazing that any film works. You know, it's like this, or a big, organized, exciting chaos. But, yeah, great care, great people doing what they do in their lane.

I promise I'm not walking through every move in your career. You're like, what time is it? But I do want to ask you about Black Panther and Wakanda Forever and talk about movies that cut across lines. If you make $1.3 billion with an opening movie that's different than people have.

Seen you've done, then they can't. They can't say what used to be, say a long time ago that movies about. About black characters don't translate across seas. You know, internationally, it was like, you make 1.3 billion. I think somebody's watching you.

Yes.

Yeah, you got a lot of eyes, so that's satisfying to see just through the journey, you know. Okay. You know, movies don't translate to Europe. And I feel like someone from the 1800s who lived to the 1900s, 100 years is like, oh, I've seen five presidents. Oh, I remember we didn't have refrigeration. You know, we salted our pork, you know. Oh, how times have changed. Yeah, they do change, and it was great. It's been rewarding to be around during that change. The stories are vast. Stories are diverse, because to me, even doing this, people are interesting. You know, people are interesting. Where they come from, why they end up, how they end up, how they do they think the way they think, why they fight, the way they fight. They love the way they love. You know, it's all about illuminating this human experience that we're having.

What was it like to be in the middle of that phenomenon? As it grew and grew and grew, you knew you'd done something special, but it just became a thing unto itself. Not just here around the world. People fell in love with it.

It was a thing unto itself. That was literally the first time I've, you know, gotten stuck on the computer looking at, you know, fans of the series and their reaction, and they would literally cry, fall off chairs with just a little bit of information with the trailer. When the trailer came out, this is not the movie. The trailer's coming out, they would run into walls in their bedrooms. They would. Men would cry, weep. It was like, what is going on here? Oh, something big's about to happen. But they were fans of Marvel, fans of Black Panther. And to see that fans for a long time. And so to hear someone 4 years old to 94, literally, when I would go to church and little ladies would come up to me and say, I love that Black Panther. I love that movie, it was, I mean, just. Just a vast audience. You know, when we talk about our demographics so, you know, 14 to this, that, you know, we try. We try to make sense of it, but sometimes you can't make sense of magic.

Sometimes a movie is so good, it blows through demographics when it's 4 to 94.

That's right.

I had. Chadwick was on the show with me in the middle of all that. I think he just gotten off a plane from Seoul with all of you on a press tour, and he just sat down. And I felt like I was seated with him in the middle of this thing that was changing his life. Obviously, I, along with just about everybody else, didn't know what else he was going through at the time. When you look back on working with him in one of his final performances, what does it conjure for you?

I'm so blessed that I got an opportunity to meet him and to work with him. He is such a Soulful human being, so caring and so wise and so in tune with who he is and so grateful for others. He was just as warm as you can imagine. I felt motherly toward him.

There's a theme here. You feel motherly.

Yes, I want to take care. But he reminded me, it was interesting. He reminded me at the opening, you know, at the party, the premiere, the party afterwards, that I was like, okay, bye, Chadwick. I'm about to leave now. He said, I just wanted to tell you when you got your honorary doctorate at Howard, which is where he went to undergrad, went to school. He said I was your escort that weekend, during part of that weekend. And I hadn't recalled that at all. I hadn't recalled that. That was first honorary doctorate I got. It was a school that I in, in, in high school. I thought it was my number one. This is where I'm going to go. I'd heard about the history of it and I want to go there. I had gone there, you know, but I had choose. Chosen to go somewhere else. That gave me more scholarship, which I needed, my mother needed, but I hadn't remembered that. Well, I didn't know it, you know, there's so much going on, you know, okay, this student's going to take you here and there. And I say, and here we sat. Look at you. We have sat for months next to each other in the makeup trailer. And you never mention that. While we're doing the work. While we're doing the work. But now that we're at this point where we can celebrate, then. Then he brings it up. And I thought, that's so thoughtful because so many people would have done that so much earlier.

It would have led with that.

Yes. Yeah, yeah. No, it's like, let's be, hello, let's work.

And what a moment for him to have escorted you around not that long ago. And now he's co starring with you in this massive movie.

And sort of reminded me of years ago, I, when I was in la, I got this. Well, I wasn't in LA then. I was touring with a play called Joe Turner's Coming Gone in San Diego at the old Globe Theater. Got a call, oh, there's a movie. You know, this roles that they're casting in. Oh, my God. So I, I go up. It's during slavery time. I give me a big skirt and I go, I'm sitting on the ground. I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm in the moment in the. Everyone else is sitting there like, you know, today's person, but I'm like, oh, somebody from, you know, 1600s. And. But I remember I got the part. I got the role. We were on location. Donald Sutherland was cast in it, Natasha Richardson, Tony Todd, and my shero, Cicely Tyson. So I'm going to meet her for the first time. You know, we have these people that we look up to who admire, who inspire us. And she certainly was that one for me, as you can imagine. And I just thought, we're all waiting and she's about to arrive. And they said, oh, yes, Ms. Tyson is coming down the hallway now. And I'm at the table with everyone else. And it was just like, no, it's got to be different. I walk out, I walk outside the door and I watch her walk down the hall. And she gets there and I extend my hand and say, hello, Ms. Tyson, I'm Angela Bass. It's a pleasure to meet you. And she said, thank you, darling. And then we go in the room and all that nervousness, all of that is gone because it's time to work. And any of that other stuff, we can do that later. But first things first, right?

The work that served you well over the years. Do the work.

He reminded me of me.

Yeah, right, right. Came all the way back around.

He's my brother.

So with everything you've accomplished in your career, everything we've been talking about here this morning, do you allow yourself moments to stop and think about where you came from? The little girl singing into her hairbrush and the mirror or seeing of mice and men on stage and dreaming that it would be so amazing just to be on any stage. Do you have these pinch me moments?

I do every day. Every day that I show up at set and look around at all the wonderful people, I get an opportunity to meet and to work with those who championed me and brought me along to play play with them? I do. I think it's important to remember where you came from. It really fosters a sense of gratitude and I think that's an important character to be grateful for your experiences, for the highlights, for the lessons learned, for the missteps, because in those you learn as well. But it's been wonderful because we all have something to contribute and to it. If you can remain grateful, you can appreciate what others have to contribute.

We've contributed a lot, so you really have. Thank you, Angela. It's such a pleasure to meet you and talk to you. Thank you.

Thank you, Willie.

Thank you.

[Willie Geist]

My big thanks again to Angela for a great conversation. You can stream zero day now on Netflix. And my thanks to all of you for listening again this week. If you want to hear these conversations with my guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And of course, don't forget to tune in to Sunday Today every weekend on NBC to see these interviews with your own two eyes. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit down podcast.

[Angela Bassett]

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