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Angela Bassett tells PEOPLE exclusively that being a mom of two helps her prepare for her presidential roles
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The Mission: Impossible star says that as a mom, she has “veto power” and her children “need to adhere” to her rules
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The award-winning actress shares her two children with her husband, fellow actor Courtney B. Vance
Giving orders while portraying the leader of the United States is nothing new for Angela Bassett, whose most important role to date is being a mom of two.
While chatting with PEOPLE at the New York City premiere of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning on Sunday, May 18, the 9-1-1 star, 66, shares that motherhood helps her prepare for her presidential roles. The actress says that while she listens to her children, she ultimately has “veto power” on every decision.
“I think being a mom really actually helps, ’cause you have constituents,” she says of preparing to play the president. “You listen sometimes, but they need to adhere. You have veto power.”
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Angela Bassett
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress portrayed the president of the United States in both the Tom Cruise-led action film and on Netflix’s Zero Day. She tells PEOPLE that she hopes her roles will inspire the world and that “life will imitate art.”
“Whenever I’m portraying them, I’m hoping and waiting for the day where life will imitate art. We’re not there yet, obviously,” she tells PEOPLE, adding that she hopes her presidential roles “in some way” help people become more comfortable with the idea of a woman being president.
“Maybe [it’s] for some people to see representation,” she adds. “We always talk about that idea of seeing yourself in film and theater, seeing what’s possible, human interaction. So I think … the film is aspirational in its way, so one day, one day. We’ll get there.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the How Stella Got Her Groove Back star shares her summer plans and talks about what she’s looking forward to seeing her kids do in the warmer months.
“We’re looking to see how they enjoy working for a living,” she says. “They have some internships coming up. Some have long hours [and] some are in the business.”
“We’ll see how they feel about it afterwards because it all seems so glorious and glamorous,” she continues, before adding, “so we’ll see after they really go to work.”
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Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance with their 2 children
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The proud mom was only filled with joy when she dropped her twins off at college for the first time.
The What’s Love Got to Do with It actress previously appeared on Today, where she chatted about her illustrious acting career and her reaction to her twins Bronwyn and Slater heading off to college.
The mom of two revealed that she didn’t shed any tears when she dropped the fraternal twins off at school.
“You know what, no tears. Just lots of joy,” she shared. “You think you’re going to cry, and because you think you are going to do that, it doesn’t happen. I remember when I went to college and how wonderful it was, so, of course, I wanted that for them too, so no cries, no guilt.”
Read the original article on People