The insane production process Halle Berry called “gnarly”
Method acting is a polarising approach to the profession that has just as many supporters as it does detractors, but Halle Berry took the unusual step of immersing herself completely into her first-ever role on the big screen.
Having made her acting debut as part of the cast on the short-lived sitcom Living Dolls in 1989, Berry lucked out when her maiden cinematic outing came in a Spike Lee joint. As a former runner-up in the Miss USA contest and sixth-placed contestant in Miss World, though, the majority of casting calls the aspiring actor attended would always be based on her looks first and foremost.
“I came from the world of beauty pageants and modelling, and right away when people heard that, I got discounted as an actor,” she admitted to W Magazine. However, after originally reading for a different part in Jungle Fever, Berry convinced its writer and director she wanted another role instead. “I said to Spike, ‘You know, I really am eyeing this crack ho role. Can you please let me audition for that?’ And he said, ‘No, no, I don’t see you as the crack ho.'”
In her own words, “I came back out, and I got to read the crack ho, and I got the part of the of the crack ho.” Describing it as “an amazing way to start my career, playing a crack ho to be directed by Spike Lee,” the next step for Berry was to be as convincing as she possibly could.
The way to achieve that, through her reasoning anyway, was to forsake the concept of personal hygiene. Going all-in for her first theatrically-released performance, Berry decided that her character Vivian needed to be as close to realistic as possible without the star developing a drug habit.
“I didn’t smoke crack. I drew the line there,” she thankfully clarified. “I was brand spanking new, and at that time, all I could really do was kind of try to be it, so I didn’t shower for the whole entire time that we shot that movie, so that was probably about eight weeks.” For a first-timer, that’s quite the dedication to authenticity, even if it doesn’t come highly recommended.
Berry did at least outline that “certain body parts got washed, let’s just say that” before understatedly calling her strict avoidance of soap and showers as “gnarly, it was gnarly”. It was a memorable supporting turn that hinted at the greatness that lay in Berry’s future as a superstar-in-waiting, with her sacrifice turning out to be worth it in the long run.
Fortunately, her current status in Hollywood means weeks without a strong scrub for the sake of a role isn’t a possibility she’d even entertain anymore.
