Angela Bassett’s Bookish Roles
In honor of her 60th birthday, we pay tribute to Angela Bassett’s bookish roles.
In a career spanning four decades, Ms. Bassett has played a wide range of characters—and quite a few of them are based on books! Here is a complete (we think!) list, in chronological order. For these purposes, we have included plays (even two that I can’t find published versions of) and comics (of course).
Thank you for your stunning work, Ms. Bassett, and Happy Birthday!
227 (one episode) based on play 227 by Christine Houston
The Flash (one episode) based on the comics
One Special Victory based on the book B-Ball by Ron Jones
Malcolm X based on the book The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X
What’s Love Got To Do With It based on the book I, Tina by Tina Turner and Kurt Loder
Panther based on the book Panther: A Novel by Mario Van Peebles
Waiting to Exhale based on the book Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan
Contact based on the book Contact by Carl Sagan
How Stella Got Her Groove Back based on the book How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan
Boesman & Lena based on the play Boesman & Lena by Athol Fugard
Ruby’s Bucket of Blood based on the play Ruby’s Bucket of Blood by Julie Hébert
Meet the Robinsons based on the book A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce
Meet the Browns based on the play Meet the Browns by Tyler Perry
Green Lantern based on the comics
Black Nativity based on the play Black Nativity by Langston Hughes
White Bird in a Blizzard based on the book White Bird in a Blizzard by Laura Kasischke
Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle based on the Curious George books by H.A. Rey
Chi-Raq based on the play Lysistrata by Aristophanes
Rainbow Six: Siege (video game) based on the book Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy
The Snowy Day based on the book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Black Panther based on the comics
What is your favorite of Angela Bassett’s bookish roles?
