Dominique Thorne brought a new and exciting character to the Marvel family in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and as she was wowing audiences as Riri Williams and then Ironheart, she was also learning a lot in the process. From one actress and legend in entertainment, Angela Bassett, Thorne felt like she learned a valuable lesson in her career and life.
Joining a film franchise in its second chapter can be a massive undertaking; joining the Black Panther family during such a bittersweet time was something Thorne immediately understood the importance of. Feeling the weight of the love and loss the cast was experiencing was another critical piece of the puzzle for Thorne, who says she learned a lot from the woman leading the cast and crew through new and heartwrenching territories.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Thorne says that Bassett taught her many things throughout the process, most importantly, to take a moment to breathe and feel the emotions you’re experiencing.
“The biggest thing I learned from Queen Ramonda herself, Miss Angela Bassett… to take your time. My very first day on set was the scene that she and I have in the throne room, with me entering the throne room for the first time. What a day one! And I think, I was immediately sort of, of course there’s so many things that were going through my head. Just about not only the film and marveling at all of these things. But, about the scale of the set, the scale of the movie, the blue screens, all these things. And, the moment that they said action and we started the scene, it was just like such an immediate zap back to life. Back to the present moment where she was so connected and so locked in and so in it. She was now Queen Ramonda.”
Thorne continued by saying that despite everything happening around them, Bassett could hone in on her craft and focus on the scenes in front of them, the story they were working hard to tell. It wasn’t something she said, but it was in how she lent herself to the role of Queen Ramonda and the intensity of the way she focused on the task at hand.
“She didn’t say anything extra, nothing more than what was written on the page. But, with that I feel like got everything I needed to know because of how focused and locked in she was. Those are my favorite type of actors. You know? That was definitely the lesson. For me, it was stay focused on the craft.”
Bassett’s focus and dedication to the role of Queen Ramonda led to her nomination an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and the impact she’s left on the Marvel realm and the Black Panther fandom as a whole is something fans will forever be grateful for, and we would all do well to learn from her as well.
You can watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney Plus, now and see Thorne and Bassett shine with the utmost talent.
