The performance that inspired Halle Berry’s career: “I saw myself reflected”
While many aspiring actors start out as models, very few reach the level that Halle Berry maintained throughout the majority of her acclaimed career. From a ‘Best Actress’ win at the Oscars for her impressive work in Monster’s Ball to her Golden Raspberry triumph for ‘Worst Actress’, thanks to Catwoman, Berry truly has done it all.
In recent years, after featuring in the John Wick franchise, Berry also tried her hand at directing with the 2020 sports drama Bruised, which served as her debut. Featuring Berry herself in the lead role as a former UFC fighter who gets pulled back into the world of brawling, it earned mixed reviews, but it was ultimately enough to convince Netflix that they wanted to see more of the Die Another Day star’s work.
On multiple occasions, Berry has opened up about the role cinema played during the most formative years of her life and how films inspired her to pursue her dreams. One of the best examples of this is Robert Wise’s iconic 1965 musical The Sound of Music, which urged countless children, including Berry, to participate in the magical world of filmmaking.
During a conversation with A.Frame, Berry was asked to discuss five definitive cinematic experiences that shaped her journey as an artist and she did not hesitate to put The Sound of Music right at the top of that list.
Berry said: “As a small girl, I remember one of the movies I used to watch over and over and over was The Sound of Music — probably because it was on public television. It seemed like it was on every weekend, and I just have a fond childhood memory of it that I haven’t been able to shake. It’s a movie that I’ve required my children to watch and something that we share together.”
In addition to Sylvester Stallone’s brilliant work in Rocky and Darren Aronofsky’s haunting Requiem for a Dream, one particular performance that showed Berry the power of acting was Diana Ross’ portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues.
The actor revealed: “That was one of the first times I saw myself reflected — not in Billie Holiday’s story, but by seeing a Black woman leading a film. That movie really meant a lot to me, and it was about one of our iconic Black singers. I remember when Diana Ross was nominated for an Academy Award for that movie. I wasn’t alive when that happened for Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones, but I remember when it happened for Diana Ross. And I remember what a good feeling that was.”
Earning an Oscar nomination for her work, Ross’ on-screen presence elevated the entire production and helped audiences ignore some of the stereotypical elements that plague biopics to this day.
