Angela Bassett might remember this moment, forever.
The actress, 66, got candid on losing the 2023 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress to Jamie Lee Curtis. Bassett was nominated for her portrayal as Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” while Curtis, 66, took home the award for her role as Deirdre Beaubeirdre in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
As the “Freaky Friday” star’s name was called, the “Soul” alum didn’t hide the devastation on her face. Bassett later told Oprah Winfrey that she was “gobsmacked,” both by the loss and how the internet reacted to her reaction.
“I found it interesting,” she told Town & Country in an interview published Thursday. “Interesting that I wouldn’t be allowed to be disappointed at an outcome where I thought I was deserving.”
“I love applauding people. But in that moment …” Bassett continued, as the outlet says she spoke about how she thought she had put in the work to be recognized, before amending her statement.
“No, I have put in: put in the time, put in good work over time,” Bassett confirmed. “I didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given.”
In 2024, the academy granted her an honorary Oscar.
These days, Bassett is starring in the Netflix thriller series “Zero Day” alongside Robert De Niro. The actress plays Evelyn Mitchell, president of the United States, while De Niro, 81, stars as the former president.
But this isn’t the first time this powerhouse pair worked together. The duo starred in the 2001 movie “The Score.”
“Being intimidated by him is easy,” Bassett confessed to the outlet. “He’s so serious, all business. We don’t waste any of his time. You want to show up and be ready to go.”
The star-studded show also boasts Joan Allen, Dan Stevens, Lizzy Caplan and Matthew Modine.
Bassett first shot to stardom in 1993’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” The biopic based on Tina Turner’s life earned the then-34-year-old her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
And along with a slew of hit movies — including “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” “Malcolm X” and “Strange Days” — Bassett has also had a successful television career. The Hollywood icon joined “American Horror Story” in 2013 in the show’s third season, “Coven.” Bassett has also played Sergeant Athena Grant-Nash in ABC’s “9-1-1” since its 2018 debut.
“I never thought about doing a procedural. I never thought about doing a series, really,” Bassett told Town & Country.
In 2023, Bassett looked back on how she got her start in honor of the 30th anniversary of “What’s Love Got to Do with It.”
“You got up at five in the morning, went to the gym to workout for two and a half hours,” she recalled to Variety about getting into the role of Turner. “Then you would head to Michael Peters and learn routines — which were all intense cardio — for about 10 hours. Ten hours! You had to be so focused and so determined. Pain was irrelevant. Fear was real and physical pain and torture was just going to be a part of it. Every part of your body hurt and there was no time to eat anything.”
Bassett added that playing the iconic singer, who died at 83 in 2023, was “a huge responsibility.”
As she put it, “Telling the story of Tina and Ike, this relationship and the resiliency of this woman — the frailties, the strength and the brilliance of these two individuals who made such a profound impact during their time together and apart.”
“I don’t think we had seen a woman like Tina on a rock and roll stage who was the age that she was and had been through what she had been through.”
