Akeelah And The Bee

Bassett plays Tanya Anderson, the mother of Akeelah in the movie Akeelah And The Bee. 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson discovers the competitive world of spelling bees. Akeelah represents intelligence and accepts the challenge of representing her school and community in the National Spelling Bee. Co-stars include KeKe Palmer and Laurence Fishburne.

You sort of dig beneath the surface and see how she ticks. You know, look at what the givens are, what it must be like to go through the process of grief.