Angela Bassett was right there when Austin Butler was bracing himself for the Best Actor announcement at the Oscars. The actress told of reaching for his hand in a short essay that ran with a TIME 100 tribute to Butler that was published today.
Butler was vying for Best Actor honors with Colin Farrell, Bill Nighy, Paul Mescal, and Brendan Fraser, the latter the eventual winner. “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. “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.” Bassett herself was nominated for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Much was written about her apparent disappointment when her name wasn’t called. But she was far more understanding of what not winning can mean.
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