For Halle Berry, it’s personal
AFTER a string of critical and commercial disappointments that followed her 2002 Oscar win for “Monster’s Ball,” Halle Berry drew accolades for her dramatic performance in this year’s “Things We Lost in the Fire,” including an NAACP Image Award nomination for outstanding actress in a motion picture.
In the film, Berry plays a mother of two who is devastated when her husband is murdered. She becomes involved in a shaky but eventually healing relationship with his best friend, Jerry, a lawyer turned heroin addict (Benicio Del Toro). Now expecting her first child with her boyfriend, model Gabriel Aubry, Berry takes a moment to reflect on the role and her life. What do you like most about your character and what the least?
I loved her resilience, that she was able to deal with her own grief and was then able to help someone else. But before she had that loss, she was a judgmental person, very self-righteous. She didn’t have the ability to come out of herself. She passed a lot of judgment on [Jerry]. But I understood a lot of that came from fear. Have there been roles that made you wonder if you’ve taken on more than you should have?
I always think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. (Laughs.) I always have that fear: Have I chosen something I can’t handle? But then I realize that’s the reason why I chose it. I’m like a moth to a flame. When the risk is really high, that’s a real charge for me. You’ve played such diverse roles. Is there a common thread about them that defines your sensibility or philosophy of life? The characters are all different, but the common thread for me is to always choose roles that provide an outlet to express what I’m going through in real life. Since “Jungle Fever,” I’ll have that personal catharsis, where I’ll have a eureka moment and think, “That’s why this came to my life.”
With “Things We Lost in the Fire,” I desperately wanted to become a mother. I’ve played a mother before but this was a woman who was a good mother and completely devoted to her children and her family. And that’s what I wanted to create in my own life. Do you think having a child will influence your artistic choices?
I’m positive it will have a profound effect. I have no way of knowing how. Maybe in six months, but that would just be me guessing. I know I will feel the need to express something different. If I stay true to how I’ve chosen roles before, my choices will express the new person I’ve become. When was the last time you watched “Things We Lost in the Fire”?
I will watch my movies once when we’re preparing to do publicity and then once at the premiere, and I never watch them again. It’s just hard to watch myself -- it’s not something I enjoy doing. During award season, how do you deal with the buzz?
It’s easy. I don’t feel a great sense of pressure. I feel lucky to have won a few awards in my career. When a group of your peers says you did good, it’s very nice to be acknowledged.
But I’ve learned that is not what the business is all about. It’s not what drives the engine. It’s just the cherry on top of the pie. Does it get easier or harder for you to leave a character like this on the set?
I’ve really learned the value of leaving it there. When I take my coat off on the set, it stays there. It’s not something I talk about at home. It’s not really healthy.
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