8 Times Angela Bassett Was A Total Boss

23rd July 2016

After successfully portraying countless female characters known for holding their own in male dominated environments, it’s no surprise Angela Bassett shines as White House Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs, first in Olympus Has Fallen and now again in its sequel London Has Fallen, available for digital download now and on Blu-ray & DVD from 18^th July, 2016.

In London Has Fallen, Bassett is just as we expect; fierce as ever, and ready for action. Along with President Asher (Aaron Eckhart), the President’s Chief Security Detail Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), and Vice President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), Jacobs travels to London to help save the world from impending disaster, AGAIN.

A multiple award-winning actress with a stunning resumé, from Rosa Parks to Betty Shabazz, and Katherine Jackson to Tina Turner; bodyguard and limo driver, to stockbroker and Voodoo Queen; Angela Bassett is not only a bad-ass B in real life, she’s no stranger to playing one on screen.

To celebrate Bassett’s triumphant return to the screen as Lynn Jacobs in London Has Fallen, here is a list of 8 times Angela Bassett was a complete and utter boss!

London Has Fallen & Olympus Has Fallen | Lynn Jacobs

In the event of a global crisis, Lynn Jacobs is your girl. The only female member of President Asher’s cabinet, White House Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs is a valued advisor to all her male peers. She is calm, cool, and collected in the face of danger, and she always makes the right call. It is clear that Bassett is very comfortable in this role, and executes it beautifully.

The Rosa Parks Story | Rosa Parks

In 2002, Bassett landed the role dozens would dream to play, the African American civil rights heroine, Rosa Parks. When asked to give up her seat for a white passenger on a full bus, Rosa Parks declined, and was subsequently arrested. On the day of her trial protesters started a boycott that lasted 381 days, and eventually caused the ruling that declared bus segregation unconstitutional. Bassett won her first NAACP Image Award for best actress in this role.

Malcolm X | Betty Shabazz

In the 1992 film Malcolm X, Bassett played opposite Denzel Washington as Malcolm X’s wife Betty Shabazz. Like her husband, Betty Shabazz was a respected civil rights activist. After Malcolm X was assassinated, Betty took a job as a professor at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and raised their six daughters all on her own.

The Jacksons: An American Dream| Katherine Jackson

Ever heard the term Mom-ager? It probably originated from Katherine Jackson, wife of Joseph Jackson, and mother of the children that comprised the popular 60’s band The Jackson 5. Based on an autobiography by Katherine Jackson, The Jacksons: An American Dream followed the life of Joseph and Katherine and their talented children, exploring how this family made themselves into a business. Bassett was encouraged not to take the role due to some criticism of the Jackson family at the time, however the actress insisted. The show subsequently became one of the most popular and successful music-biography mini-series of the 90s.

What’s Love Got to Do with It | Tina Turner

What’s Love Got to Do with It is the moving story of pop legend Tina Turner (formerly known as Anne Mae Bullock), her rise to fame, and her struggle to find the courage to leave an abusive husband. Tina Turner is one of Bassett’s most memorable roles. Bassett’s moving performance garnered the actress a Golden Globe Award, and her first Academy Award nomination. In this film, Bassett not only demonstrated impressive acting chops, but also some killer dance moves.

Strange Days | Mace

Bassett illustrates no role is beyond her scope of capability in Kathryn Bigelow’s 1995 racially charged, science fiction thriller Strange Days, starring as a divorced single mother, body guard, and limo driver all rolled into one. As Lornette “Mace” Mason, Bassett is at the centre of some pretty intense action, including car chases, police raids, and race riots. Once again, Bassett is not only keeping up with the boys, she is also leading the pack.

How Stella Got Her Groove Back | Stella

It is impossible not to love Angela Bassett in the 1998 Rom-Com, How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Not only is Stella a ball-busting stockbroker working her butt off to raise her son as a single mother, after taking a well- deserved vacation to Jamaica, she captures the heart of Winston Shakespeare, played by the handsome Taye Diggs, twenty years her junior. Cougar alert! That’s pretty bad-ass.

American Horror Story | Marie Laveau

As well as bossing it on the silver screen, Bassett has also stood out in Ryan Murphy’s acclaimed TV series American Horror Story. In the series’ third season American Horror Story: Coven, Bassett took on the epic role of Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau; ageless, timeless, and forever unforgiving. Bassett’s outstanding performance as the Voodoo Queen not only garnered an Emmy nomination, but also the opportunity to return in different roles in each subsequent season.

LONDON HAS FALLEN – On digital platforms now. On Blu-ray & DVD from 18^th July, 2016. Courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

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