Angela Bassett is dazzling audiences in the gripping new Netflix miniseries Zero Day, sharing the screen with none other than Robert De Niro, alongside Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Plemons, Connie Britton, and Matthew Modine. At 66, the actress embodies the formidable US President Evelyn Mitchell, who enlists the expertise of ex-President George Mullen (De Niro) to navigate a treacherous cyberattack that wreaks national chaos.
Bassett has hinted at her character’s tenacity, remarking: “She’s a woman who gets business done.”
Meanwhile, Eric Newman, the brains behind Zero Day’s script and its executive producer, mused on the casting choice for someone to match wits with De Niro, saying: “When your former president is Robert De Niro, who are you going to get who you’ll watch and believably think, ‘Oh, here’s someone who can hold their own against Bob?'” For Newman, Bassett was an immediate thought, even telling Tudum: “She probably could have been president for real if she had set her mind to it.”
Fans eager for the scoop on this acting powerhouse will be intrigued to learn that Bassett hails from New York City, honed her craft at Yale University, and further refined her skills at the Yale School of Drama, earning a Master of Fine Arts. It was at Yale that she crossed paths with her now-husband, actor Courtney B.
Vance, but sparks didn’t fly until they reconnected in Los Angeles a decade later. The couple tied the knot in 1997 and expanded their family with twins via surrogacy in 2006, making their home in LA, reports the Mirror.
It just so happens that Bassett and Vance, 64, had previously tread the boards together in a 2005 production of His Girl Friday at Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater. Their partnership extended beyond the stage, as they co-authored a book, Friends: A Love Story, alongside Hilary Beard.
However, romance wasn’t instantaneous for the couple, as Bassett revealed during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Mark.
She shared: “We met in drama school and he came with and left with a girlfriend and I was like, ‘Wow, the commitment of that guy. Amazing.’
“Years later we ran into each other in LA and like, ‘Oh, a familiar face.’ I had a party and I was like, ‘Invite the girlfriend’ and he was like, ‘She’s gone.'” Recently, Bassett unwittingly sparked a frenzy on social media after being name-checked in Ariana DeBose’s 2023 BAFTAs rap. During the star-studded ceremony, the West Side Story talent paid homage to numerous female nominees, including Dame Emma Thompson and Michelle Yeoh.
When DeBose rapped “Angela Bassett did the thing”, widespread bewilderment ensued, as many people pondered the cryptic remark’s meaning. Speculation swirled about whether “the thing” referred to Bassett’s powerful portrayal of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
With characteristic poise, Bassett laughed it off during her NAACP Awards acceptance speech, quipping to the crowd: “I guess Angela Bassett did the thing!”
Zero Day is streaming on Netflix now
View news Source: https://www.ok.co.uk/tv/angela-bassett-husband-marriage-34723612
