Halle Berry often shares her centered lifestyle with fans, namely on Instagram. The actress recently spoke with Variety about the after-effects of her historic Oscar win in 2002. She became the first African American to take home the golden statue as best actress in the movie “Monster’s Ball.”
Hollywood didn’t exactly come knocking at her door after such a great moment, and Berry’s follow up film “Catwoman” in 2004, flopped.
“I think it’s largely because there was no place for someone like me,” the actress 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,'” Berry said. “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.”
It’s been almost two decades since Berry gave her tearful acceptance speech, standing there, giving love and support to other black women actresses in the industry and “every nameless, faceless woman of color.” Berry says, “she’s disappointed that she remains the only one.
“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. “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.”
The lack of wins by African American women in the same category has “brought about conflicting emotions,” for the star.
“It’s one of my biggest heartbreaks,” she said. “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.”
Through the quiet disappointments, Berry has over the years appeared in big-name movies, including “X-Men” and “John Wick,” though “she’s never stopped having to battle for roles.”
Ever evolving and loving the beautiful life of work, health, and family, Berry can now add director to her resume. Her upcoming film “Bruised,” in which she also stars, says, “I get to have a voice. That was different, and I really loved that.”
