In the opening scene of Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning, master spy Ethan Hunt listens to a familiar message one last time. “Your mission, should you choose to accept it” is enunciated by a voice that’s sultry, evocative and undeniably Angela Bassett’s. On another movie, this would be another set of memorized lines. However, Bassett knows the weight they carry in the franchise’s canon. She wanted some extra assurance she would articulate her words just right. “I was so nervous,” she laughs at the memory. “I literally had to say Lord, help me get through this, and then get to work.”

Bassett’s prayers were answered. Not only did she deliver the scene, but she’s along for the ride as the Mission: Impossible cast heads to its global premiere at the 78th Festival de Cannes. But before the actress steps on the palais steps, she’s in London mixing a little business with pleasure.

“There’s an energy, you know, in the streets, very much like New York,” says Bassett. “Soho is a nice walking area. Piccadilly. Then, I do a little window shopping, looking at the quaint shops… mom and pops stores we don’t see here in the states. And theater, of course. That’s my first love. I enjoy London quite a bit.”

The Big Smoke will be home for a few days as she begins promoting Mission: Impossible, where she’s reprising her role as Erika Sloane, CIA’s deputy director. For the final film, she has a noticeable job promotion: President of the United States. This year marks Bassett’s second time playing POTUS on screen. Last February, she starred opposite Robert de Niro in Netflix’s Zero Day, and now reteams with Tom Cruise as his Commander-in-Chief.

When asked what it means to play empowered women roles, especially when the United States has yet to elect a female president, Bassett says, “The representation is needed. It should not be impossible to be seen. I feel incredibly blessed. Not lucky, blessed with the roles that I’ve been able to portray on screen and stage.”

The Emmy-winning actress is spreading her blessings by turning them into opportunities for other Black and brown creatives in Hollywood. As the star and executive producer of her hit Fox series, 9-1-1, Bassett has a hand in ensuring that the set’s diverse behind the camera. “It’s a challenging club to break into but I have to support Black female directors and new writers. 9-1-1 is a well-oiled machine. We’re [producing] 18 episodes a year, so there’s an opportunity to give them a shot. I love that aspect of the job.”

Bassett extends this directive to the production company she runs with her husband, Country B. Vance, who she says is more in the trenches of the day-to-day running of Bassett/Vance Productions. “I’m 14 hours over here [filming 9-1-1.] I come in to open the door or close the deal,” she says before adding with a laugh. “I gotta sleep sometimes.”

Back in London, resting isn’t on Bassett’s agenda because this is one of her favorite cities. (Plus, she’s still buzzing from her first appearance at The Met gala, where, coincidentally, she was dressed by Burberry, London’s storied fashion house. She says of the historic evening celebrating Black style, “I felt like we understood the assignment.”) The moment her press obligations are done, she’s grabbing her walking shoes to explore the town. When traveling anywhere, that’s her modus operandi.

“It depends on the city. Is it a walking city? Is it an arts city? Or is there a music scene? Or is it more historical? Whatever it is, I just dive into and try to get to the nucleus of a city’s vibe,” she says. And what’s her essential traveling accessory? A good pair of sneakers. “I want to be comfortable, get around and have a good time. I want to get in the streets, meet people and have experiences.”

She remembers her very first trip abroad, back when she could finally afford “a good coach ticket” right after finishing her master’s at Yale’s School of Drama. “It was the Virgin Islands. It was so beautiful. I told myself, I’m gonna go to each and every one,” she remembers. “I’ve since been to about nine different islands [in the Caribbean]. But that first trip… seeing that beautiful vista, ocean air, expansive blue sky. It felt like home.”

Long before she would appear in films that would take her around the world, Bassett grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. It’s there, on a “small town stage,” that she found her love of the written word as a form of self-expression. However, as many local and national cultural institutions—including the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kennedy Center—face losing financial support from the federal government, Bassett finds defunding the arts devastating. “Art is the illumination of the human experience that we’re all going through. It’s what makes life beautiful and bearable, poignant and joyous. You’ll never get rid of it. It eats in the souls of certain individuals. It’s who we are,” she says.

“There’s creativity in everything. I hope that we as a country will come together to save the art. We cannot live without it.”

Bassett knows this firsthand because the arts have fed her soul for over 40 years. “I love theater because it’s the actor’s medium,” she says. “Television is the writer’s medium, but theater—it’s you, the lip of the stage and the audience. We’re having this experience this night together. It’ll be a different experience with different souls the next night, and the next night, and so on and so forth. There’s no place to hide. You bare your soul and it either works, [laughs], and if it works, they let you know.” But Bassett’s eager for a chance to perform in front of a live audience. “New York is waiting for me and I can’t wait to get to the stage.”

Before she makes her way back to Broadway (Bassett’s last appearance was in 2011, opposite Samuel L. Jackson in The Mountaintop), there’s the very urgent business of saying farewell to her Mission: Impossible fans. She’s spent the greater part of her first day in London getting ready for a series of high-profile interviews, including this cover story with EBONY. As Bassett leans against a penthouse balcony, with Big Ben’s clock tower glimmering over her shoulder, she’s contemplating two very important questions:

Spies are exceptional at keeping secrets. Are you?

“If you tell me this is a secret and if I’m instructed not to say anything, then I will hold it. I’m pretty good. Although I am not a steel trap, I am pretty good at it. Some secrets I’m just not interested in sharing.”

Then would you say you’d be a good spy in real life?

“I don’t know. My face may tell the tale. I’ll try to give a bland face, but I don’t know… I’m very expressive. [laughs] I’ve been told.”

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