On a psychological journey
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This down-to-earth actor has done diverse roles. Now `Perfect Stranger,' a thriller, is Halle Berry's latest.
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UPBEAT: Halle Berry
Halle Berry is excited about her latest psychological thriller, `Perfect Stranger.' "I felt good being part of making a movie that I would want to go see," the 40-year-old Oscar winning actress enthused during a recent interview. "It's a real date movie, where you can go and get a little escape and have some fun."
`Perfect Stranger,' directed by James Foley, poses the question: how far would you go to keep a secret?
Berry plays Rowena Price, an investigative reporter who learns that her friend's murder might be connected to her online chats and subsequent fling with powerful ad executive Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis).
The down-to-earth actress whose diverse credits include `Monster's Ball,' `Swordfish,' `X-Men,' `Bulworth,' `Die Another Day' and `Introducing Dorothy Dandridge' is currently dating Versace model Gabriel Aubry and, while understandably cautious and protective of her personal life (given past experiences with two previous marriages to baseball star David Justice and musician Eric Benet), seems to be finally in a place of contentment, personally and professionally. Excerpts:
What made you say yes to this movie?
The story was really interesting. I read so many scripts that by page 35 I can't even get through the rest but this one was really intriguing and a mystery and kept my brain going, trying to figure it out.
I also realised that I really liked this woman and wanted to go on her journey... the movie explores a topic that is very current; the Internet and this world where anybody can be anything they want to be and... where nobody is who they say they are. So it's intriguing and scary at the same time.
What do you think of on-line dating?
People are starting to date [and meet] on-line and I gather it's the new social scene and a way to meet people instead of clubs and bars, but there is still an element of fear in that because you don't know who is really going to show up on the date and that is a aspect of our movie that really gets explored. It can be fun but it can also be scary!
How was working with Bruce Willis?
I had a very small part in his movie `The Last Boy Scout' so we'd worked together before but he didn't even remember me from then, quite honestly, which was funny!
But then he lived right next door to me when we were putting this movie together so the producer and I talked about how great he would be and I told them he was my neighbour so they suggested I take the script over to him [which I did and ] told him `here's a script, read it and I hope you love it and want to do it' and that was it.
What were the other specific challenges about this film physically or romantically?
There weren't really any physical scenes and nothing where I needed a stuntwoman, which was refreshing after `X-Men' and `Catwoman'! There wasn't much romance either...
Do you still `live' your roles like when you played a crack addict in Spike Lee's `Jungle Fever,' you didn't bathe for days?
My work has evolved thankfully and I have really learned how to leave my work at work and that's a good thing.In the beginning I was so green that I had to do that to bring characters to life and if I ever was playing a character where I thought I'd need to live it, I guess I would, but that wasn't the case here. I have learned to work and then go home and have a life.
What do you do when you have time to yourself?
I started painting about five years ago and that's become a passion. I do oils on canvas, mixed media, and I'm going to... [learn] sculpting from an artist friend because I have a few months off.
After `Monster's Ball' you did a lot of big blockbusters. Do you try and juggle art and commerce in your choices?
My choices aren't all that complex. As an actor, after I won the Oscar I felt so much pressure the day after and I made a decision that I wasn't going to allow an Academy Award to force me to change the way I used to do my career.
What's next?
It's a classic example because I go from this big psychological thriller to a small art movie, `Things We Lost In The Fire,' with Benicio Del Toro. I reserve the right to make choices that inspire me at the time and sound like what I want to do and not think about commerce versus art. I hope I can juggle both and stay relevant in the industry by doing both...
Is it still tough to find great female roles in Hollywood?
People think if you win an Oscar somehow it's easier, but it's really not. There are so few great scripts for women. We are all fighting for the same few roles and wanting them so it's tough.
I loved `Perfect Stranger' because it is really a woman's journey and this kind of genre is usually more about the men. I think people who sit in judgment of why [this person did this movie or that] forget that if we sat around waiting for the really great role all the time, maybe we wouldn't be working at all!
(Courtesy Sony Pictures)
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