Earlier today (March 13), Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club interviewed the legendary and non-aging, actress Angela Bassett and she revealed some chilling details as her role as Tina Turner in the iconic biopic What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). While she was robbed for the 1994 Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the superstar singer/songwriter, Bassett has accumulated one of the most decorated film careers in history. The 61-year-old thespian has become a household name for her performances in films like Malcom X (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), and more. In more recent years, Ms. Bassett has found a resurgence becoming a member of the Marvel Universe starring movies like Black Panther (2018) and becoming a mainstay on the highly-popularized thriller television series, American Horror Story.
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While Angela Bassett continues to have one of the most historic runs in film and entertainment history, it was her story and the disturbing experience of filming some of the most gut-wrenching scenes ever revealed in a music-based biopic as she portrayed Tina Turner. Around the 14:00 minute mark of her latest interview with The Breakfast Club, Angela Yee reveals that Bassett has landed another role as Anna Mae in an upcoming film. The same name of Bassett's character in What's Love Got to Do With It.
When asked if she was bothered by the name selection, Vampire in Brooklyn actress stated that she wasn't offended by it. Charlamagne Tha God then went on to ask Ms. Bassett about the cerebral process of playing Tina Turner who was a victim of physical, verbal, and sexual assault throughout the notorious film and how she was forced to embody that trauma in order to deliver a convincing product. Bassett responded in the most eloquently way she knew how, stating:
"It was... you know the scenes. The rape scene by the aquarium. Or him, fighting (me) and getting dragged down the hall. But, it was good to have a colleague (Laurence Fishbourne) to have that in someone you trust and I'm speaking on Laurence, to go through that (with). Because he's got you. You know? He's got you emotionally and just actor to actor."
Bassett continued:
"The hours were long. It was extremely physical. You actually hurt for thirty straight days. If you're not dancing, you're lifting weights so, the lactic acid build-up for thirty days something, everything hurt, but you had to go on. Some of it was understood, the dynamics within a relationship, between a man and a woman, you know? Black love. Violence. Or whatever. And like you said it inhabits your spirit and yet 'we're making a movie.'"
As a victim of sexual assault as a child, Angela Bassett remained extremely candid and transparent about a filming process that could have mental consequences on even the greatest of actors/actresses.
Angela Bassett also spoke on the coronavirus, accolades, Broadway, and more. Check out her interview with The Breakfast Club in the video provided below and skip to the 14:00-minute mark to hear the living icon discuss her portrayal of Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It.