Angela Bassett reflected on losing the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress to Jamie Lee Curtis at last year's Academy Awards: 'It was, of course, a supreme disappointment.'
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Angela Bassett reflects on losing Best Supporting Actress to Jamie Lee Curtis: 'It was, of course, a supreme disappointment'
"I thought I handled it very well, and that was my intention: to handle it very well," the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" star said.
By
Wesley Stenzel
Updated on March 8, 2024
Angela Bassett is contemplating her loss at last year’s Oscars.
In a new interview with
Oprah Winfrey, the
What’s Love Got to Do with It? actor spoke about her experience at the 95th Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Queen Ramonda in
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , but ultimately lost to
Jamie Lee Curtis in
Everything Everywhere All at Once. “I thought I handled it very well, and that was my intention: to handle it very well,” Bassett said. “It was, of course, a supreme disappointment, and disappointment is human, so yes, I was disappointed, and I handled it like a human being.”
Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda in 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'. ANNETTE BROWN/MARVEL STUDIOS
Winfrey noted that she didn’t understand why Bassett’s muted reaction to Curtis’ win went viral. “I didn't get the whole ‘Angela Bassett face,’” she said. “I thought, wow, you can see that [you] expected another thing, but you were still as gracious as a queen would be.”
“Absolutely. For myself and for my children, who were there with me, yes,” Bassett responded. "I know a pastor who says ‘technology is different — people are the same.’ There are going to be these moments of disappointment that they are going to experience. But how do you handle yourself in the midst of them? We're going to smile, we're going to be gracious, we're going to be kind — we got a party anyway.”
Bassett’s nomination was a historic milestone: she was
the first actor in any category to receive an Oscar nom for a performance in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie (though other actors had previously been nominated for non-Marvel comic book movies, like
Paul Newman in
Road to Perdition,
Heath Ledger in
The Dark Knight, and
Joaquin Phoenix in
Joker). Bassett won a Critics’ Choice Award and a Golden Globe for
Wakanda Forever, so some prognosticators expected she might take home an Oscar as well — but Curtis’ victory at the SAG Awards led others (
including EW) to predict a victory for the
Everything Everywhere All at Once star instead.
It took no time at all for Bassett to get her groove back, though. In January, the
Strange Days actress
received an honorary Academy Award at the 2024 Governor’s Awards. At the ceremony, Bassett delivered a rousing speech to encourage other Black performers. "To my fellow Black actresses, fill your hearts with courage and strength because regardless of what you may see or think or feel, your contributions do matter," she said.
"Take comfort knowing that your performances have given hope, offered a different perspective and for others just pure joy in a time of need," she continued in her speech. "Never allow fear, frustration, or disappointment to get in the way of the blessings that are divinely and deservedly yours. Remember who you are and who our ancestors intended us to be. I proudly share this honor with women who stand up when they are told to stand back, who speak up when they are silenced, who remain determined when they are told they are defeated."