How accepting ‘Worst Actress’ gave Halle Berry a revelation
Hollywood is hardly the easiest industry to break into, and it can often take years of hard work to earn recognition as a star. For Halle Berry, the early days of her career were spent in a homeless shelter in New York City, and it seemed as though she wasn’t going to make it in such a cutthroat industry. She was determined to become an actor, though, even when she had no funds to support herself.
It would’ve been easy – and perhaps more logical – to give up on her dreams of Hollywood stardom, but soon it all started to fall into place. Berry landed roles in movies ranging from Jungle Fever to The Flintstones. She still failed to achieve significant mainstream recognition, however, until the end of the decade. After becoming the face of Revlon and landing parts in some more significant films, like X-Men and the James Bond movie Die Another Day, Berry’s star power began to increase.
As the actor entered the 2000s, she found herself earning critical acclaim for certain performances, specifically her role in Monster’s Ball, which won her an Academy Award. The film, directed by Marc Foster, was received well, and Berry’s complex performance was widely admired. With an Oscar under the belt, Berry was in hot pursuit, with producers and filmmakers seeking her presence in upcoming blockbusters.
One of these was Catwoman, directed by Pitof, which saw Berry play the eponymous character who first appeared in Batman. After the success of superhero movies over the previous decade, such as the Batman series, a Catwoman movie was the obvious next step. Berry wasn’t the first choice for the role, but after a series of actors turned the part down, she inevitably accepted and underwent extensive training to prepare for the agile role.
Unfortunately, the movie was received so terribly that critics slammed practically every aspect. The movie had the potential to ruin her career, but somehow, Berry moved past the tragedy of Catwoman and appeared in other successful projects such as Cloud Atlas and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Berry didn’t even feel too ashamed by the fact that she won a Golden Raspberry Award for her performance, beating competition from the likes of Shawn and Marlon Wayans for their portrayal of stereotypical valley girls in White Chicks and Hilary Duff for roles in both A Cinderella Story and Raise Your Voice. Perhaps when you already have an Academy Award, you don’t take the opinions of the Razzie Award panel too seriously.
It is rare for Razzies winners to actually attend the ceremony and accept the award with a speech, but Berry thought it would be funny to do so. Following in the footsteps of Razzie winners who accepted their awards in person, such as Showgirls director Paul Verhoeven and Freddy Got Fingered director/star Tom Green, Berry took to the stage.
Berry once explained to Kam Williams that the Razzies were “fun”, adding, “When I got there, and I walked out, they were so happy that I was there, that I had a real emotional moment. I know I was there to get the ‘Worst Actress’ Award, but I had a real emotional moment when I realised that none of it matters, whether you’re getting the ‘Best Actress’ or the ‘Worst Actress’ Award.”
Rather than dwelling on the award, the star found the humour in the fact that she had won such a silly and lighthearted accolade, clearly of the knowledge that she’s not a terrible actor – it was just a bad movie. She continued, “The love that I got from the people who were in that room, who had voted me the worst, was sort of odd and twisted, yet it felt really good to be there, actually. So, I was really glad I went and had fun with it.”
