Out of The Shadows at Last

By Richard Zoglin

"I never thought I could fill Tina Turner's shoes, not in a lifetime," says Angela Bassett of her knockout performance as the rock superstar. For Turner, however, it was just a matter of the right shoes. When she saw one of Bassett's outfits, Turner went shopping and bought her two pairs of zebra- striped high heels. For another scene, she literally gave Bassett the shirt off her . . . But let Bassett tell it: "When I did I Might Have Been Queen, I was wearing a little peach-colored T shirt. Tina said, 'Oh, that's so old- fashioned,' and took off her white linen Armani shirt and said I could wear it. She was that concerned for me."

The passion for detail paid off. Bassett's impersonation of Turner is the kind of star-making turn that every actress dreams of -- and practically every black actress in Hollywood wanted. Halle Berry and Robin Givens were among the finalists for the role that went to Bassett, best known previously for Spike Lee's Malcolm X, in which she played Betty Shabazz, wife of the Black Muslim leader.

A native of St. Petersberg, Florida, Bassett, 34, went to Yale Drama School and spent most of her first professional decade shuttling unnoticed between Broadway (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), television (Tour of Duty) and movies (John Sayles' City of Hope). The roles grew meatier -- she played the mother of a troubled ghetto youth in Boyz 'N the Hood and Michael Jackson's mom in abc's The Jacksons: An American Dream -- but she still labored in the shadows until Tina thrust her onto center stage.

The audition process for the grueling part stretched out over a month. "They gave you six songs," she recalls, "including performing Proud Mary top to bottom. They gave you four or five scenes -- young Tina, '60s Tina, '70s Tina, dragged-down-the-hall-and-get-a-fra ctured-left-hand Tina. It was rough." So was the filming. Bassett really did fracture her hand, and she had to soak her feet in ice after two 17-hour days of shooting the Proud Mary number in 3-in. heels. The only sour note for some is that Bassett's final number was replaced by footage of the real Turner. Bassett does not complain. "People want me to feel badly about that, and I don't. If ((the filmmakers)) want to honor her in that way at the end of the movie, and if the audiences appreciate seeing her that way, then let them have it. It doesn't discredit my work and the joy that I brought to this role."

With reporting by Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles