*Halle Berry made Hollywood history in 2002 when she won the Academy Award for best actress for the film “Monster’s Ball,” making her the first Black woman to win the award.
Nearly two decades later, the actress remains the only Black woman to receive the honor.
“I thought Cynthia [Erivo, the star of ‘Harriet’] was going to do it last year. I thought Ruth [Negga, nominated for 2016’s ‘Loving’] had a really good shot at it too,” Berry said in an interview with Variety. “I thought there were women that rightfully, arguably, could have, should have. I hoped they would have, but why it hasn’t gone that way, I don’t have the answer.”
Berry said after her massive Oscar win she thought she would have an endless selection of roles to choose from… but the opposite happened.
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What an immense pleasure to speak with @variety on my directorial debut – getting my most beautiful friend @CliffWattsPHOTO to photograph was the cherry on top. #TIFF2020 #Bruised ✨
Writer: @RaminSetoodeh
Stylist: #MaryamMalakpour
Hair: @SaraTesss
MUA: @makeupbyjmonroy pic.twitter.com/K4CDw9xPzP— Halle Berry (@halleberry) September 10, 2020
“I think it’s largely because there was no place for someone like me,” Berry said. “I thought, ‘Oh, all these great scripts are going to come my way; these great directors are going to be banging on my door.’ It didn’t happen. It actually got a little harder. They call it the Oscar curse. You’re expected to turn in award-worthy performances.”
Berry said her Oscar win is one of her biggest heartbreaks.
“It’s one of my biggest heartbreaks,” she admitted. “The morning after, I thought, ‘Wow, I was chosen to open a door.’ And then, to have no one … I question, ‘Was that an important moment, or was it just an important moment for me?’ I wanted to believe it was so much bigger than me. It felt so much bigger than me, mainly because I knew others should have been there before me and they weren’t.”
For her latest project, Berry is both starring in and directing the film “Bruised.”
“As an actor, I always show up and do my part, and I can only do what I can do,” Berry said. “Being the director, I have a part in the totality of every department. I get to have a voice. That was different, and I really loved that.”
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