Forget ‘Da Vinci,’ how’s Iceland?

For the world’s entertainment media who gather here annually for the Festival de Cannes, the news conferences with directors and actors after screenings occasionally put a movie star’s poise and wit to the test. Especially when the questions get a little personal.

Take Halle Berry, for instance.

On Monday, during a session with director Brett Ratner and other stars from “X-Men: The Last Stand,” a reporter asked the Oscar-winning actress: “As I was coming out of the theater last night after midnight, Halle, there was a young Frenchman standing there with a sign. And it said, ‘X-Men’ three tickets or Halle Berry’s phone number.’ Are the French just more romantic or does this happen to you everywhere?”

When the laughter subsided, Berry responded: “I didn’t see that sign, by the way. Maybe I should have. The French are really romantic. I think when I come to France, I always leave with good options.”

Sometimes, self-deprecating humor helps an actor get through a question. When Patrick Stewart was asked if the third “X-Men” was one of his “final journeys” in the world of fantasy films, the seasoned actor replied: “Do you think one can have too many franchises in one career? I’m still smarting from the fact that Ian McKellen starred in ‘Lord of the Rings’ and apparently there was nothing for me. ‘Harry Potter’ has gone through five incarnations. Every single actor over 60 in England is in a ‘Harry Potter’ film [but me]. And I’m smarting from their rejection.”

Last week, Tom Hanks was holding forth at a news conference with director Ron Howard and the cast of “The Da Vinci Code” when a reporter seemed to take everyone aback when he wondered why the Oscarwinning actor loved Iceland.

Hanks, seemed momentarily confused, but then quickly recovered: “Why do I love Iceland? We only have a few minutes here ... but I’m just going to start with how sensational the people are ... the location is ideal. Summertimes are beautiful. There is a lot of camping and you can get a really great and relatively inexpensive cup of coffee in Iceland.”

When a similar question about Iceland came up at another festival news conference, reporters groaned, “It’s the Iceland guy again.”

Then there was the reporter from Chile who stood up to ask “X-Men” cast members a question, and said that his plane flight to Nice took so long that he developed hemorrhoids.

“Even for me it’s hard to sit down,” he said. He rambled on about Kelsey Grammer and his former TV show “Frasier” and told the star he seemed to be doing “really well.” At that point, moderator Henri Behar asked the man to state a question. But the man kept going.

” ... And when I came here, I went to a pharmacy ... but the [pharmacist] didn’t know English or Spanish ... “

“Get to the question, please,” Behar implored.

” ... Attractive women like you, Miss Berry ... “

“You! Yoo-hoo?” Behar interrupted. “Down!”

Still Behar doesn’t think quirky questions are a big problem for most actors. After all, he said: “They don’t need my help to humiliate themselves.”