Checking in with ANGELA BASSETT

Angela Bassett has played cops before, most notably in the 1995 comedy/horror feature film “Vampire in Brooklyn.” But she’s never had to actually hold or fire a real gun.

That changed when she landed her role of LAPD Sgt. Athena Grant in the Fox procedural “9-1-1,” premiering Wednesday, Jan. 3. For this, the 59-year-old actress hit the firing range to get her holding and handling of the weapon down. But the actual firing of it took her by surprise.

“It’s louder than I thought,” the New York-born, Florida-reared Bassett reports. “Gunpowder smells more pungent than I thought. It kicks back harder than I thought and it’s tenser than I thought just pulling that trigger. You know, it’s not as fun as it sounds the first time and it wore me out mentally just trying to hit that mark.”

Created by “American Horror Story” stewards Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, the hourlong drama stars Bassett (an Oscar nominee for “What’s Love Got to Do With It”), Peter Krause (“The Catch,” “Six Feet Under”) and Connie Britton (“Nashville,” “Friday Night Lights”), among others, as a group of emergency responders who thrust themselves into terrifying, heart-stopping situations on the job while coping significant problems in their personal lives.

In Athena, Bassett plays a woman who embraces her role as a public servant and the control that comes with it but finds that of little use when it comes to her woes at home.

“She has family issues and dynamics issues she’s going through with her husband and he’s questioning the relationship,” Bassett explains, “and so they’re just trying to figure out if they’re going to stay or call it quits.

“But that’s not as easy as it sounds,” she continues, “because they have these kids and they’re going through their issues – you know, teenagers and teenage girls and mean girls and bullying and attempted suicide. So it’s a lot going on in Athena’s world and yet she’s still out there every day trying to save others from peril.” Full name: Angela Evelyn Bassett Birth date: Aug. 16, 1958 Birthplace: New York City (raised in St. Petersburg, Fla.) Education: master’s from Yale School of Drama; bachelor’s in African-American studies from Yale Family ties: She and her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance (“American Crime Story”), are the parents of two children TV credits include: “Search for Tomorrow,” “Spenser: For Hire,” “Ryan’s Hope,” “227,” “thirtysomething,” “Alien Nation,” “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “Alias,” “ER,” “The Simpsons” (voice), “Bojack Horseman” (voice), “American Horror Story,” “Underground,” “Master of None” Movie credits include: “F/X” (1986), “Kindergarten Cop” (1990), “Boyz n the Hood” (1991), “Malcolm X” (1992), “What’s Love Got to Do With It” (1993), “Strange Days” (1995), “Vampire in Brooklyn” (1995), “Waiting to Exhale” (1995), “Contact” (1997), “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” (1998), “Sunshine State” (2002), “Mr. 3000” (2004), “Akeelah and the Bee” (2006), “Notorious” (2009), “Olympus Has Fallen” (2013) Favorite book: “For a long time, it was ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ (by) Zora Neale Hurston. I still love that.” Favorite movie: “I don’t have a favorite movie. I just love movies, I really do. I love them all. I love indies, new voices, some action – not too much of that – as long as it’s a good story. But I just love going to the movies. I can watch three and four in a day. So they’re all my favorites.”