Angela Bassett 'wailed for 16 hours' a day on Tina Turner biopic set
Angela Bassett "wailed for 16 hours" a day while filming Tina Turner biopic 'What's Love Got to Do with It'.
Angela Bassett "wailed for 16 hours" while filming 'What's Love Got to Do with It'.
The 65-year-old actor was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic but she admitted shooting gruelling scenes opposite Laurence Fishburne as her abusive husband Ike Turner took a huge toll on her.
She told People magazine: "It's not playtime or acting. You assess a part of your spirit in the portrayal when you really connect...
"To portray the particular violence of rape was just emotionally draining and would be for anyone."
Of a scene where Ike "knocked" Tina over the back of a couch, she added: "I literally wailed, cried for 16 hours, whether I was on-screen or off-screen for my costars.
"I probably wouldn't do that today. But during that time we were just so committed through the fire."
Angela will always be grateful to have had Laurence advocate for her while shooting the gruelling scenes.
She said: "I was newbie on the scene, I don't have so much influence or say.
"But I had an advocate who would join me by my side and we would say, in a firm and delicate way, 'We got it.'"
But despite the heavy nature of the themes in the movie, Angela knew it was the right career move for her.
She said: "It was a real watershed moment in my life. And I knew in the making of it that it had the possibility of changing my life and it could change the trajectory of my career."
The 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' actress previously revealed she worked out 12 hours a day and barely ate while making the movie.
She told Variety: “You got up at five in the morning, went to the gym to work out for two-and-a-half hours.
“Then you would head to Michael Peters (the choreographer) and learn routines – which were all intense cardio – for about 10 hours. Ten hours!
“You had to be so focused and so determined. Pain was irrelevant. Fear was real and physical pain and torture was just going to be a part of it. Every part of your body hurt and there was no time to eat anything.”
Angela added about her diet on the film: “Broccoli, string beans, Yukon potatoes and bland chicken breast. That’s what my trainer suggested for me. “And black coffee and water. Literally. And there was no time to sit down at a table and eat those items."
