Actors and actresses who work in the film industry are pretty much aware of how far a role can push them because it can be quite demanding and difficult at times. However, in contrast to other celebrities, Halle Berry is a seasoned professional who is aware of all the risks and rewards of taking on those challenging roles when the opportunity arises.
Although Berry is best known for playing Storm in the X-Men movies, we can’t deny the fact that she is more than just an action star. In fact, it is challenging to classify her because she has appeared in so many films and played roles that are so wildly dissimilar from one another. And if that were not enough, she also scales every obstacle in the way of her career, as she proved while filming Monster’s Ball in 2001.
The actress, who started her career as a model, previously discussed Monster’s Ball as a major accomplishment when outlining her career for Vanity Fair.
Halle Berry Was Warned Not To Accept The Oscar-Winning Monster’s Ball Film
Halle Berry received advice from multiple people to decline the Oscar-winning part in Monster’s Ball. Marc Forster, who later went on to helm movies like Stranger than Fiction and Quantum of Solace, directed it when he was still just starting out in his career.
However, everything that attracted her to the 2001 film was also what turned off other people.
Berry talked about Monster’s Ball, an important turning point while breaking down her career for Vanity Fair. She expressed that she connected with her character (Leticia Musgrove) right away:
“When I first read Monster’s Ball, it was very much similar to how I felt about when I read Bruised. I thought, ‘I have to do it, I’m going to die if I don’t do this.’ I saw myself all over it. I intrinsically knew who that character was, what she was struggling with, her brokenness, her fracturedness. I understood the battle. I understood her fight in life.”
The actress, 57, agreed for the role, saying:
“I have to do it.”
She was surrounded by those who cautioned her against doing so, saying:
“But then people around me said, ‘Ooh, it’s a very low-budget movie. It’s very risqué. There’s some s*xual components to it that maybe you don’t want to do.”
The actress was also informed that it might ruin her career, but despite this, she was willing to take the chance, saying:
“And those were all the reasons why I loved it. And I thought, ‘If this ends my career,’ like many people thought it would, I thought, Well, I’m going to end my own career on my own volition. I’m going to end my career doing something that inspires me, that ignites me, that excites me.”
With a $4 million production budget, the film was a huge commercial success, grossing $44.9 million globally.
The Inspiration for Halle Berry’s Monster’s Ball Love Scene
When filming Monster’s Ball’s famous love scene, Halle Berry received some assistance. Nicole Kidman, a fellow movie star and Oscar winner, served as an unexpected source of inspiration.
When Monster’s Ball first came out, Berry’s love scene in the movie stirred up a lot of discussion. She even informed the filmmaker that she had a few requirements for the role, but she did not object to the scene. She once told The New York Times:
“I would only do it if Billy Bob agreed to be as n*ked as I was.”
Berry was inspired to perform the scene by Kidman. The latter exposed herself on stage in the 1998 play The Blue Room. The Bulworth actress initially found the performance unbelievable, but it would later influence how she performed in Monster’s Ball. Apparently, the actress once told the Irish Examiner:
“I remember when Nicole Kidman was n*ked on stage and I thought, ‘How could she?’ Eventually, when the opportunity presented itself to me, I just bit the bullet and did it.”
She was recognized for her performance in Monster’s Ball with the Academy Award for Best Actress, which she cited as one of her biggest professional achievements.
Next, viewers will see the actress in Matthew Charman’s upcoming science fiction action movie The Mothership, which is slated for release by Netflix in 2023.
Monster’s Ball can be streamed on DIRECTV.
Source- Vanity Fair
