Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance have been acting for a long time. The talented artists have worked together for more than 25 years. Love like theirs doesn’t happen very often, and Courtney and Angela want their fans to be able to find love that lasts like theirs.
Angela is working hard to get the word out about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She told Hoda and Jenna on the Today Show about something Courtney said early on that made their relationship so strong and solid.
The women told Angela she was “having a moment right now,” which was a compliment given how long she’s been in the business and how she’s still in big-budget movies. Hoda asked why Angela is making such a strong comeback right now. She says she doesn’t really think about it and just tries to enjoy the ride.
Angela also talked about how Chadwick Boseman’s death pushed her and the rest of the movie’s all-female cast to the front of the film to carry on the work they did in the first one.
She said that his direction in the first 2018 movie really drove the story and set them up for success on the sequel, even though he wasn’t there. Angela says that the movie is an amazing story and that she’s glad to be in it. The women try to get her to spill the beans about who the new Black Panther is, but she won’t.
Angela Bassett then talked about her 25-year relationship with Courtney Vance and how they had to go against the odds because she had never seen “long relationships” in her childhood. Angela says that being married for 25 years has taught her how hard it is to keep it going. She said that negotiating is important and that you don’t always get what you want, but most of the time they find a good compromise. She also says that forgiveness is important.
Angela says that a week after they got married, Courtney told her that “divorce was not an option.” She says that she laughed it off at the time, but later she understood that he was the one who could “stand the storm,” which is what every relationship needs to survive.