Halle Berry: Going to ‘Dark Places” for ‘Bruised, and Directing Herself

  • Berry shared with Insider that she went to “dark places”She will be preparing for her role as a disgraced MMA fight fighter.
  • She claimed she discovered about “fighting to have a voice”Spike Lee as a director.
  • After making “Bruised,”She admits that she wouldn’t star in a film she directed again.

Halle Berry is one the most prominent stars in Hollywood. She holds the distinction of being first Black woman to win an Oscar for best actress. However, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been challenging herself.

In her latest movie “Bruised”(Currently in select theaters.


Netflix

Wednesday’s performance by Berry was not only powerful, but also her first directorial appearance.

Berry portrays Jackie Justice, an MMA fighter who becomes a joke after she runs out of the ring during a fight. She is now cleaning wealthy Newark homes while her abusive boyfriend abuses her. Justice realizes that she must take action to make her life better, including getting back in the ring, after her baby son is returned.

Originally, it was a project Blake Lively would star in and be directed. “The Notebook”Berry, who was directed by Nick Cassavetes in 2018, took over the project. She trained for two years in MMA and convinced producers to let her take the helm.

Berry’s gritty drama is the result.

Insider spoke with Berry over


Zoom

About why she loves to get into a dark place in order to play flawed characters, the directors who inspired her, and why “Bruised”Her experience taught her that she would never be a star in another movie she directed.

Halle Berry fighting

Halle Berry fought Jackie Justice for MMA in 2009. She was unable to return home for two years. “Bruised.”

Netflix


It would be hard to imagine that, aside from the physical preparation for the role, it must have been a lot of mental work to get in the right mental space to play Jackie. How did you cope?

I needed to go into the mindspace of being so broken and in many ways loveless from my childhood that I was so compelled to leave my child. It’s not what women do. My belief is that most women don’t sign up to a blood sport. We don’t want to be punched in the face. So, I had to find ways that I could deeply connect with those two things as a woman. I wouldn’t leave my children and I wouldn’t fight for real. That was my job. To find out who does it and why.

It is difficult to be true to yourself, so it can be fun to play that type of character.

These are the best roles. It’s possible to be completely different from yourself and create something new and authentic. It was difficult for me go to dark places and to do all of the work. Two years of training was required to make me look like a fighter. Those are huge challenges that I enjoy. To be able to do my best in my career, I have worked very hard.

Halle Berry looking through lens

Halle Berry is on the set “Bruised.”

Netflix


You then direct the movie. Is there anyone you admire from the work of a past director?

While there wasn’t anyone I was really inspired by, I do have idols in directors. David O. Russell is a great director and I love the way he approaches work. Spike Lee (1991) was an early mentor of mine. “Jungle Fever”), and I learned a lot from him.

Spike taught me a lot about authenticity, fighting for clarity and purity even when others don’t get it. That was huge on this movie, as so many people didn’t understand the world I was creating.

Martha Coolidge (1999) “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge”I was fortunate to have worked with a female director early in my career. Susanne Bier (2007’s “Things We Lost in the Fire”) reminded me to always keep my feminine gaze and that it was important to fight for that and put it on the screen. While I can’t claim to have modeled my self after anyone, I do recall the advice that these people gave me throughout the years.

Do you plan to keep directing in the future?

Absolutely. This is possible because I’ve done it. I can do it. It’s something I have always believed we could accomplish as women. It’s not hard to believe, right? With this project, I proved to myself that it was possible. It is possible. It was a pleasure to be in this role and tell a story from my perspective, which is a female’s point of view. It is unlikely that I would ever act or direct again. This experience has taught me that either one of the jobs is sufficient. But directing again, absolutely. There are many stories in my head that I want to tell.

Latest News

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here