Spoiler
Film actress Angela Bassett told SCI FI Wire that she will make a rare TV appearance as a guest star in at least two episodes of ABC's Alias, playing a superior to Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) in the upcoming fourth season. "I got a call from [series creator] J.J. Abrams," Bassett said in an interview while promoting her latest movie, Mr. 3000. "They were just very excited about the possibility of me coming aboard and doing a couple of guest appearances, doing an arc as a character who's a CIA field supervisor."
Bassett added, "She's a big muckety-muck at the CIA and is Sydney's new boss. And you don't know if I'm giving her a hard time or if I'm on her side or what, because there's always that secret-agent, double-back, secret-spy, double-agent thing going on. I'd seen the show a few times. So I was familiar with the characters, and I was a big fan of the actors. I'd worked with Carl Lumbly and Victor Garber on How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and I think Jennifer is quite extraordinary."
Bassett said that she has already completed one episode and will return soon for another. She sounded optimistic that she won't meet the fate of so many other guest stars and end up either taking a bullet or falling from a building. "I hope not!" Bassett said, laughing. "In the first episode I'm a very competent person. She jabs at me, and I come back at her. I guess I could always take a bullet. You don't know." Alias returns to the air in January.