- Uma Thurman, Pulp Fiction, 1993.
- Samuel L Jackson, Die Hard: With A Vengeance, 1995. With Mrs John McClane (Bonnie Bedila) out of the second sequel, Oscar-nominee Bassett was talked of as a partner for Bruce Willis – like taking over the attitudinise black cop from Reginald VelJohnson. Then, Willis got pally with Sam during Pulp Fiction.
- Catherine Zeta-Jones, Entrapment, 1999. “Sean told me he would love what our being in the film would mean across the board – how beautiful our skin would look next to each other’s. I left the meeting thinking: ‘It’s mine.’ Hollywood wasn’t as progressive as Connery. I really could’ve added spice to that role.”
- Halle Berr, X Men quartet, 1999-2013. Now here’s a Ripley moment… Bassett was in the frame for the weather-manipulating Ororo Munroe/Storm… leader of the X-Men when Cyclops is away. In the comix, she married T’Challa, an African king, aka a certain superhero. When Black Panther won his own standalone feature in 2017, Bassett was Queen Ramonda. Not his wife but (time marches on) his mother!
- Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball, 2001. For someone supposedly never offered the role (according to producer Lee Daniels), she sure had a lot to say… “I wasn’t going to be a prostitute, such a stereotype about black women and sexuality. Film is about something you can be proud of ten years later.” Berry was proud – winning the first black Best Actress award in 74 years of Oscars. “I can’t and don’t begrudge Halle’s success. It wasn’t the role for me. I told her she’d win. Of course, I’d love to have an Oscar [she was nominated for What’s Love Got To Do With It, 1993] but… for something I can sleep with at night.”
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 5