One of the many viral images that emerged out of the 2023 Oscars was the sight of Angela Bassett holding Austin Butler’s hand as the best actor category was announced. Butler was nominated in the category for his performance in “Elvis,” but he lost the Oscar to “The Whale” star Brendan Fraser. The moment registered deeply across social media as Bassett endured her own Oscars loss in the best supporting actress race earlier in the ceremony. Bassett was nominated for her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” but the Oscar went to Jamie Lee Curtis for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
“On the evening of the Oscars, with Austin seated next to me, I understood intimately what he felt when it was time to learn if he would climb those stairs to the stage,” Bassett wrote in a tribute to Butler as part Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2023. “So, I took his hand and held it softly as the winner was announced. Although his name wasn’t called, Austin is no less a winner. The time had come for Austin to say goodbye to Elvis as he began to embrace an infinite universe of possibilities as an actor. I can’t wait to see what he brings us next.”
Bassett herself had experience taking on a real music icon when she portrayed Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” Similar to Butler’s performance as Elvis Presley, Bassett earned an Oscar nomination for playing Turner. The Academy Award for actress went to Holly Hunter for “The Piano” that year.
“I watched ‘Elvis’ with a deep appreciation for all the work I knew Austin put into his performance,” Bassett wrote earlier in the tribute. “A lot goes into an actor’s finding their way into an icon, not pretending to be them but offering a perspective on the artist as we perform slices of their story. You walk away from that set forever changed.”
“Your hope is that when people see the film, they don’t see you—they see an artist’s journey through a different lens,” Bassett added. “Austin accomplished this with a brilliantly nuanced performance.”
Next up for Butler is a starring role in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part 2.” The Oscar nominee joins Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken as new cast additions to the franchise. The sequel opens in theaters Nov. 3 from Warner Bros.
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