Angela Bassett: Steel and Silk

"Talking about Whitney," I say, "when you were working on Waiting to Exhale, there were all those rumors that no one could get along with Whitney and that you two were feuding. And yet you've said that wasn't true..."

"You know how it is," says Bassett. "If there are 10 people in a room, there are 11 opinions."

I nod in agreement. "My mother always says, 'Everyone's got an opinion. Everyone's got an asshole. That's how important opinions are.'"

Bassett looks like she doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I would love to work with Whitney again," she says when she recovers her composure. "She and I got along very well and have a great deal of respect for each other. I admire her for what she's been able to achieve in the entertainment field. It's just amazing. And yet I wouldn't want it for myself to that degree, because there's this whole other thing that goes on--the craziness of the fans, of what they desire from her to help make their dreams and aspirations come true, and the lengths they will go to get it. You become responsible for so many other people."

"Spike Lee once told me that people rise to their own level of fame. That if you go out with bodyguards, you'll eventually need them."

Bassett thinks this over for a minute before saying, "It depends on the personality of the person. Some people are very fragile and others aren't. I've never courted celebrity. I don't believe in it. I like to be able to walk down the street and not be noticed. The other night Courtney and I were walking down the street and there was this older lady with a shopping cart full of groceries. She must have been 80 and was dressed very nicely. And she couldn't get the cart over the curb. Courtney looked at her and asked, 'Would you like some help?' She said, 'Yes.' He went and helped her get it up on the curb. She said 'Thank you' and kept going. This old woman didn't know who we were. That's the kind of stuff I would be hard pressed to give up."

"Sssshhhhh," I warn her. "Don't tempt the fates."

Bassett waves away my concern. "Honey, everyone gets to decide their own fate to a certain degree," she says with a beatific smile. "And to another degree, it's not in your hands. And I trust in that."

"How'd you deal with it when the producers of What's Love Got to Do With It decided to let Tina Turner sing at the end of the movie instead of you?"

"Oh, I was hurt," Bassett says, "the way anybody would be who feels they had just given all their blood, sweat and tears to something. I worked harder than I ever had to, and harder than I've had to since. Every fiber, muscle and sinew was pulsating with pain. But as time gives me distance, then it all becomes OK. It's what it is, it's what it was supposed to be. The movie stands on its own, and I'm proud of it."

"Did you believe all the hype surrounding your performance, people saying that this was going to open every door in Hollywood for you?"

"It did open a lot of doors for me in Hollywood," she answers. "I don't remember anyone else telling me it was gonna change my life--it was me who was telling myself that. And I was right! My life did change. Five years after the fact, people come up to me every day to say it was their favorite film, or it helped them out of their abusive relationship, or somehow gave them strength. "

"After making that film, you made Strange Days, which was such a depressing and upsetting movie. My attitude after seeing it was, if Hollywood's directing the future, I'm glad I'm not gonna be there."

"All my memories of _Strange Days _are dark," says Bassett, thinking about this. "But that's because we worked for three months at night. That part of it was terrible. I had to keep reminding myself that I was being paid very handsomely. But I loved working with Ralph Fiennes."

"Is he as stuffy as he seems?"

"He was very easy to be around," Bassett smiles. "I'll tell you a funny story. He can be very quiet, and observant, and it may make you a little nervous if you're a shy person, which I am. Because I can pull back, too. But with him, I found that if I just allowed him to be who he was--that sort of laid-back, observant individual--then he opened up. Once he was giving a dinner party, and he mentioned it to me long before it was going to happen. But he didn't mention it again. The night of the party, I just stayed home. I didn't know if invitations had been sent out or anything, and I was too embarrassed to ask. Then the phone rang and it was Ralph, and he was so upset. 'Where are you? Why aren't you here? Get dressed and get over here right now!' He was about to cry. I went, and he took care of me all night. We were just two really sensitive people."

"In both What's Love and Strange Days, you're so physically strong. Do you have a killer workout regimen? Even now, you've got arms that could break walnuts."

"Nah," laughs Bassett. "I worked out like crazy to play Tina Turner, because that woman is a force of nature. But I usually don't do much. Before I did How Stella Got Her Groove Back, I did lots of leg work because Stella has to wear bathing suits, and I had to get my legs and butt in shape. But the rest just sort of stays that way."

"Stella's a very spontaneous person--she goes for a vacation in the Caribbean after seeing a commercial on television. Are you spontaneous by nature?" I ask this question with a straight face, like I don't know the answer.

Bassett shakes her head slowly back and forth. "Not really. I'm more the thinker. I have to plan things. Although not as much as my mother, who says things like, 'OK, in May 2001 I'm gonna come and visit you on Mother's Day.' I try to be spontaneous in my planning."

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