With the 2025 Academy Awards a little more than a week away, Angela Bassett is reflecting on the experience of losing the Oscar for her performance in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” nearly two years ago.
Bassett was widely expected to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2023 Oscars, but lost to Jamie Lee Curtis for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
Footage of Bassett appearing defeated when she realized she’d lost appeared in numerous outlets around the world and went viral on social media. Speaking to Town & Country in an interview published Thursday, Bassett admitted to being taken aback by the response to her initial reaction.
“I found it interesting … that I wouldn’t be allowed to be disappointed at an outcome where I thought I was deserving,” the actor told the outlet.
And while she bears no ill will toward Curtis personally, Bassett feels her work was worthy of the honor.
“I love applauding people,” she said. “[But] I have put in … good work over time. I didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given.”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” marked Bassett’s second Academy Award nomination. She was previously nominated for Best Actress in 1994 for her portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” but lost to Holly Hunter in “The Piano.”
The New York native picked up an honorary Oscar in January of last year. In her acceptance speech, she urged Hollywood to give “trailblazing” Black female actors like Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson their due, while also praising those who are current “makers of history in our industry,” such as Ariana DeBose and Jennifer Hudson.
“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’re told they’re defeated,” she said.
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“These women represent those that I’ve had the honor to portray, as well as the everyday women who surround us and inspire us to keep striving.”
Bassett stars in “Zero Day,” which premiered on Netflix Thursday. The political thriller series also features Robert De Niro, Lizzy Caplan and Dan Stevens.