Award nominees know more than anyone how nerve-wracking it is moments before the winner of their category is announced.
Angela Bassett has experienced it twice at the Oscars and held Austin Butler's hand as he experienced it for the first time at this year's award show, a memory she detailed in a tribute for Butler as part of Time's 100 most influential people of the year list.
"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," she said of the "Elvis" star.
"I took his hand and held it softly as the winner was announced," the "What's Love Got To Do with It" actor said. "Although his name wasn’t called, Austin is no less a winner."
He was nominated for his titular role in "Elvis," for which he won a Golden Globe. Bassett was nominated for her role in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," marking the second time she was up for an Oscar, the first being in 1994 for her role in "What's Love Got To Do with It." While she did not win an Oscar for either role, she won a Golden Globe for both.
Bassett wrote in her Time 100 tribute that the era of "Elvis" is over for Butler.
"The time had come for Austin to say goodbye to 'Elvis' as he began to embrace an infinite universe of possibilities as an actor," she said. "I can’t wait to see what he brings us next."
Butler and the “Blank Panther” star are both on this year’s Time 100 list, and Bassett's tribute was written by none other than Tina Turner, who the actor played in her first Oscar-nominated role.
"You never mimicked me. Instead, you reached deep into your soul, found your inner Tina, and showed her to the world," the legendary singer wrote. "That’s your gift, becoming your character with conviction, truth, dignity, and grace, even when it’s painful, and takes everything you have and more.
"It’s not just acting, it’s being. Whether you’re Tina Turner or the Queen of Wakanda, we believe in you because you believe in yourself."
