Angela Bassett thought she was "deserving" of an Oscar for Black Panther 2: "I put in good work over time"

Angela Bassett in Black Panther 2
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

Angela Bassett has spoken out about her Oscar loss in 2023 and says she thought she was "deserving" of an Academy Award for her work in Black Panther 2.

"I found it interesting," Bassett said in a new interview with Town & Country. "Interesting that I wouldn’t be allowed to be disappointed at an outcome where I thought I was deserving."

Bassett was nominated for playing grieving mother Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, making her the first actor to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for a Marvel movie. It was her second nomination in her almost 40-year career.

Jamie Lee Curtis took home the gong for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once instead, and Bassett's reaction to her win went viral.

"I love applauding people," she added, saying that she thought she had put in the work to be recognized, before correcting herself. "No, I have put in: put in the time, put in good work over time. I didn’t think that was a gift. I thought it was a given."

Next up for Bassett is Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. She reprises her Fallout role as Erika Sloane, a former CIA director who's now the President of the United States, opposite Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning arrives in theaters on May 23. In the meantime, get up to speed with the rest of this year's best upcoming movies with our guide to the biggest movie release dates in 2025.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
Challengers
Denis Villeneuve, Angelina Jolie, and Challengers walked away with zero Oscar nominations – and fans are sounding off
Zoe Saldana at the Oscars
James Cameron responds to Zoe Saldaña's Oscar win: "I was so happy to see Zoe acknowledged as the world-class performer we, in the Avatar family, have always known her to be"
Denzel Washington as Macrinus in Gladiator 2
Denzel Washington says he was smiling when he learned about his Gladiator 2 Oscar snub as he's been around too long to care
Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez
Emilia Pérez's Zoe Saldaña delivers a tearful speech after historic Best Supporting Actress win at the 2025 Oscars
Marion Cotillard in The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises star says she "screwed up" the death scene that still angers fans over a decade later
Denzel Washington as Macrinus in Gladiator 2
After Gladiator 2 snub, Denzel Washington has still never been nominated for a BAFTA
Latest in Marvel Movies
She-Hulk on Disney Plus
Tatiana Maslany canceled a Comic Con appearance due to "filming commitments", and it could mean She-Hulk is in the next Avengers movie
Charlie Cox in Daredevil
Daredevil star Charlie Cox says keeping his Spider-Man: No Way Home cameo a secret for two years was a "nightmare"
Avengers: Doomsday directors admit it's a "difficult" movie to make but tease some great Marvel collaborators "old and new"
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom
The Russo Brothers say Robert Downey Jr. "tried to talk us into" doing another Avengers movie but they "said no" until they heard the pitch for Doomsday: "That story has to be told"
Amanda Seyfried in Mamma Mia!
Mean Girls star Amanda Seyfried was offered the role of Gamora in the MCU, but turned it down because she thought Guardians of the Galaxy would be "Marvel's first bomb"
Robert Downey Jr. during the Doctor Doom announcement at Marvel's SDCC 2024 panel
Kevin Feige was behind the decision to bring Robert Downey Jr. in as Doctor Doom, and the conversation was had "a while ago"
Latest in News
Dune Awakening
Dune Awakening launches for $50 without a stay in early access, and while the survival MMO "will not have a monthly subscription" it will have "optional" paid DLC
Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton in Hawkeye
Linda Cardellini cast as Jason's mom, the original Friday the 13th killer, for Crystal Lake prequel series
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red won't make survival games just because they're popular, but Netflix's Edgerunners anime is fueling dreams bigger than RPGs
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe actor was terrified to perform until her first mocap scene earned "a standing ovation" on set: "Maybe I can do this mocap thing"
Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel may have just sneakily confirmed one of the biggest Daredevil: Born Again fan theories
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Yasuke actor says that Naoe could beat his samurai in a fight: “Especially with that big a** helmet of mine”