Angela Bassett made history at the Golden Globe Awards on Tuesday (Jan. 10) night when she won for Best Supporting Actress in a film for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She is the first to win in an acting category for their role in a Marvel film.
In her acceptance speech, Bassett spoke about the loss of her co-star Chadwick Boseman, who is known for his iconic role as the lead superhero in Black Panther. “We embarked on this journey together with love,” she said. “We mourned, we loved, we healed and we were surrounded each and every day by the light and the spirit of Chadwick Boseman.”
“We have joy in knowing that with this historic ‘Black Panther’ series, it is part of his legacy he helped lead us to, we showed the world what Black unity, leadership and love looks like beyond, behind and in front of the camera,” the actress added.
In 2016, Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer. He kept his illness private and continued to act until his death in 2020. Filming for the Black Panther sequel began 10 months later. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said the idea of recasting Boseman’s King T’Challa role “felt like it was much too soon.”
In Bassett’s speech, she also thanked Marvel fans for “embracing these characters and showing us so much love.” “We just made history with this nomination and with this award. It belongs to all of you and all of us,” she said. According to Variety, Wakanda Forever has generated $767.8 million globally, making it the sixth-highest grossing movie of 2022.
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Bassett previously won a Golden Globe award for Lead Actress in a Film, Comedy or Musical for the 1993 Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It.