"There's a greater chance that, because of the lack of opportunities there are for minority actors, I will have to be in a Tyler Perry production . . . It's when I have to. Angela Bassett won an Oscar."
That's exactly what I was thinking, Wyatt! Although Angela Bassett hasn't actually won an Oscar, she was nominated for one, and did win a Golden Globe for What's Love Got to Do With It. Yet, she has starred in a Tyler Perry movie. With Rick Fox. And Sofia Vergara? Who knew? (I didn't. I've only seen one Tyler Perry movie, and that was enough.)
I think of other notable black celebrities like Idris Elba, Whoopi Goldberg, Taraji P. Henson, Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton, Blair Underwood, Gabrielle Union, Mrs. Huxtable and Maya Angelou! Maya Angelou, national treasure and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, was in a Tyler Perry movie. Not even the prestigious one.
"These are people who presumably, they, the world should be their oyster. And instead, they're like, 'I gotta make rent. All right, do you want me to put the dress on, Tyler? Oh, you're gonna wear it? Okay, fair enough.'"
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