- The first moment I knew I wanted to be a coming actor
was when I was in Second City in Chicago
and I was taking class just for fun,
to find something to do with my evening hours.
And, one of my teachers there said to me,
"Have you ever thought about being a professional actor
and earning a living doing this?"
And I said, "No."
And he said, "Well, you should."
Hi, I'm Halle Berry,
and this is the timeline of my career.
[gentle music]
- Hey, what are you studying?
- Chemistry.
- Really?
I'm taking that too.
We're learning about gases.
What are you working on?
- Bonding properties of hyperkinetic complex molecules.
- We must have skipped that part.
[audience laughs]
- No, it's not you, I'm taking advanced science classes.
You see, this modeling stuff is great,
but, for me, it's just a way to make money
so I can go to medical school.
My first big break was "Living Dolls."
I got to play on a television show on ABC,
and what was interesting about that was
I was playing a model.
And up until that point, that's what I was doing,
I was in Chicago modeling.
So, I felt like it was a great place to start.
I was essentially playing a version of myself in many ways.
And it was the first time that I really realized
I could actually earn a living.
You know, I didn't have to do,
you know, my waitress job anymore.
I wasn't bartending anymore.
I was now earning a living
and paying my bills through my craft.
And that was a big moment in my career.
[upbeat music]
- I want y'all to meet my new woman, Viv.
That's short for Vivian.
She's good people.
I like her.
Mm!
- I've always wanted to be more than just a face.
I've always wanted to be more than this shell
that we walk around in.
My first job playing a model,
I think that was a good way to segue into the business,
but I knew after that show got quickly canceled,
I think everybody else was sort of upset by it.
I was relieved,
because I thought I got my feet wet,
I got my first job,
but now I can go on and do other things.
And the next thing I did was "Jungle Fever"
in Spike Lee's movie,
where I really got to shed my physical self,
that beauty pageant image.
He gave me a wonderful opportunity
to show that I was a real actor,
that I had been working and had been studying,
and I was more than the shell that I've walked around in.
And I've spent my whole career
trying to sort of prove that in many ways.
Spike absolutely inspired me as a director.
I remember working with him for the first time
and I was so impressed
because he was a young black filmmaker, very young,
and he was very tenacious.
He had the ability to be completely authentic
and tell a story from his point of view
and his point of view wasn't always
a popular point of view back then.
He was making a way out of no way.
There weren't many black filmmakers,
men behind the cameras,
you know, telling stories,
and he was relentless in his pursuit
to tell his truth from his point of view.
And, when I thought about my directorial debut,
I remembered Spike,
and I knew how important it was for me
to be authentic with my vision,
my black woman, female vision.
It was very important that I infuse the story,
with all those things that were important to me
and that I knew to be true.
♪ I've got rhythm ♪
♪ I've got music ♪
♪ I got my man ♪
♪ Who could ask for anything more ♪
My manager at the time came to me and he said,
"If you could tell a story about anything, anyone,
what would it be?
What would inspire you at this point in your life?"
And I said,
"To bring to screen the life of Dorothy Dandridge,
one of my heroes.
That would be what would inspire me
and excite me right now."
So he said, "Well, let's do it."
And we set out to do just that.
And we got Shonda Rhimes to write it.
A very young, budding, Shonda Rhimes
actually wrote that screenplay.
"Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" was a huge milestone.
I got to bring to screen the life of a woman
who had been someone that I look to
as a young budding actor, you know?
And just as a young woman of color, a young black woman,
I remember the first time I saw her on television
and how moved I was by who she was
and to see myself reflected in that way.
So, to bring her life to screen,
that was huge for me.
And then to be able to produce the story
that meant that I could be in control of the story
and how the story would be told
and what part of her life we would actually talk about.
So, and that also felt really, really powerful.
Good evening.
I'm Dorothy Dandridge.
[melodious piano music]
I can't say that after playing Dorothy Dandridge,
winning an Oscar was a goal.
I mean, I think that's a hard goal to set for yourself.
You know, that's such an illusive award
because our industry, everything is so subjective.
What one thinks is great, another one will think is not.
So, having a goal of winning an award, I don't think is,
has ever been my goal.
But I did have a sense that I was somehow
deeply connected to Dorothy Dandridge in some way.
And when I ended up being nominated for "Monster's Ball,"
I felt like in that moment,
"Huh, maybe I'm supposed to sort of finish this circle.
Maybe I'm supposed to finish what she started."
I felt a deep connection to her,
and to her struggle, and to her story.
And, in the back of my mind,
once I got the nomination, I thought,
"Hmm, I wonder if this is destiny."
And I think, ultimately, it proved to be.
♪ Anything more ♪
Do you know what happens to a toad
when it's struck by lightning?
[thunder rumbles]
[lightning buzzes]
The same thing that happens to everything else.
[lightning crackles]
More than anything, I love the family that we created there
with Patrick Stewart, and Ian, and Famke, and James.
We really felt,
and Hugh,
who's one of the nicest humans
I think I've ever met in my whole life.
We really formed a bond
and we were a little family for about a decade.
And, what I have missed, is I've missed seeing them.
I've missed, you know, my friends in that way.
I loved to dip in and out of, you know,
Storm and the character.
And I loved her evolution as well.
There were moments when we were shooting,
when I realized, you know,
Storm and Wolverine really had an affair,
like that's really in the comic books.
And there was a moment when Hugh Jackman and I
got to play with that in our last movie together.
And, I remember thinking,
"Wouldn't this be an interesting turn of events,
if we all of a sudden went into the Storm
and Wolverine story?
And we really sort of unpacked what their connection was
and what their relationship was?"
But, I would absolutely return to it.
It's a beloved character.
I loved playing Storm and people love Storm.
So, I would absolutely, you know,
if we could find a version that would make sense
or a storyline that would make sense,
I would absolutely do that, for sure.
[lightning crackles] [air whooshes]
I was a good mother.
I did every single thing I can think to do.
When I first read "Monster's Ball,"
it was very much similar to how I felt about
when I read "Bruised."
I thought, "I have to do it.
I'm gonna die if I don't do this."
I saw myself all over it.
I intrinsically knew who that character was,
what she was struggling with, her brokenness,
her fracturedness.
I understood the battle.
I understood her fight in life
and, right away, I said, "I have to do it."
But then people around me said,
"Ooh, it's a very low budget movie."
"It's very risque."
"There's some sexual components to it
that maybe you don't wanna do."
"The subject matter,
it's got a lot of racial components to it."
"I don't know if you wanna touch this."
And, those were all the reasons why I loved it.
And I thought, "If this ends my career,
like many people thought it would,"
I thought, "well, I'm gonna end my own career
on my own volition."
I'm gonna end my career doing something that inspires me.
That ignites me, that excites me.
And it was a risk and I love taking risks.
And I've always known, if you don't risk big,
you can't win big.
So, I was prepared to take the risk.
Wake up, baby!
Wake up!
He was hit by a car. - It's okay, calm down.
- Take him to the hospital!
I loved working with Billy.
He was, he's such a actors actor, you know?
He was a real collaborator.
You know, we talked very deeply about the character
and about the scene,
and we had this famous scene
that people still talk to me about today.
And we had to really, you know,
talk through that scene
and choreograph it in a way, if you will,
that felt right for both of us.
But he's a phenomenal actor,
I had seen him in "Sling Blade,"
and I knew when they told me he was attached to it,
that I just knew we would have a huge connection.
And we did, we connected on the material.
And, he was as fearless as I was at that time.
He was very willing to go far
and not worry about how he would be perceived on film,
but just serve as the character, as was I.
I couldn't have expected that 20 years later,
there would be no other woman of color standing next to me.
But, what I also know, is that I've seen women of color,
especially black women,
I've seen them winning, winning,
and winning since that night.
I think there was a door opened within the industry
and maybe it didn't garner another award,
but the doors opened
and I've seen more women of color in leading roles
producing, writing, directing now.
And so, I know that that moment mattered
and I know it incited change.
And that part I feel good about,
but, sure, do I wish someone was standing next to me?
Absolutely.
I was really good.
I was really good. - I understand.
[dramatic melodious music]
- I was really excited about "Bond"
because that's a franchise that's iconic.
It's a part of film history, really.
So, to be a part of that franchise
was very meaningful to me.
And, this version of a Bond woman was very different
than any bond woman I had seen before.
When Barbara Broccoli came to me with the role,
she explained that I would get to be a different kind,
a new kind of Bond girl,
which would allow me to be more active,
and sort of be, you know,
kinda working alongside Bond in a new way,
and that really excited me.
But also it excited me too to, you know,
reimagine that great Ursula Andress scene
that was, you know, so iconic,
and re-imagine it in, you know, a new way
and pay homage to who she was,
and what this, you know, the series was really all about.
- Magnificent view.
- It is, isn't it.
Too bad it's lost on everybody else.
[air whooshes]
[dramatic music]
[cat meows]
Uh!
I would definitely direct the next "Catwoman."
I think I would redeem myself.
I, as a filmmaker now,
I would totally change the story.
I would change the characters.
I would have Catwoman saving the world
from some catastrophe,
like male comic book characters get to do.
I wouldn't be just saving women
from their faces cracking off from some cream. [giggles]
I would make it more substantial
and I would set it in a grittier, more modern world.
And so, yeah,
I would jump at the chance to redo that my way.
Well, I went to the Razzie because, you know,
I feel like we all take ourselves so seriously.
If we get an award, if we get the Oscar,
we somehow are made to feel
like we're somehow better than everybody else,
but we're really not.
You know, you were just chosen that year by your peers
and you were acknowledged for doing
what they considered stellar work,
but are you better than the next person
who didn't get that award?
No, not at all.
So, if you find yourself face-to-face with a Razzie,
does that mean you're the worst actor there ever was?
Probably not.
You just got the piss taken out on you that year
by a group of people that can. [chuckles]
I never in my life thought I would be up here.
[audience laughs]
Winning a Razzie!
I decided to just take it all
and just not take myself too seriously.
And if I can show up to collect an Oscar
when you're honoring me,
I can certainly show up to collect a Razzie
when you say, "Good try, but do better."
I always learned that if you can't be a good loser,
then you don't deserve to be a good winner.
So, I went there and made fun of myself.
I had a great time,
and then I set that thing on fire. [chuckles]
That's what I did.
[clunking sound]
- Aren't you supposed to let me win?
- Not that kind of girl.
[gun fires]
[John grunts]
- Sofia!
You can't kill the bearer of your marker.
- I didn't kill you,
I just shot you.
I loved everything about "John Wick,"
the world of "John Wick."
I was a huge fan of "John Wick," one and two.
I loved doing my own stunts.
That's always a challenge.
I was a gymnast as a child.
So, anytime I get to be very physical
and use my body and do my own stunts,
I always welcome that challenge.
I loved Keanu.
I love that he also, in these movies, does his own stunts.
I think that makes the movie far more engaging
and more interesting than just normal action movies.
I've always marveled at, you know,
he and I are about the same age.
So, I marveled at what he could do at that age.
And he reminded me that this thing called age
is just a number,
and I've always felt that way too.
I knew that it was gonna be hard work
and that the director, Chad Stahelski,
was going to challenge me on another level
of challenging myself.
And I was really looking for something new
and different at that time in my career
to really get me excited again about going to work.
And I had these two bad-ass dogs that were my comrades
and I had to work with them,
go to dog training school,
and go to the range and learn to shoot.
All these new things that I had never done before,
I got to do and challenge myself.
And that was super exciting.
When I started training for "John Wick,"
I already knew that "Bruised" was coming.
I sort of got the offer to do both of those movies
around the same time.
So, the beauty of that was
when I was training for "John Wick,"
I was also training for "Bruised" at the same time,
in a small way.
And part of that training was
I was just getting my body used to
five, six hours of training a day.
I was changing my diet.
I was learning about recovery.
And I was really pushing myself to the limit.
And I knew that that's what I would have to do
for "Bruised."
So it was all sort of one big period of time
when I knew that I was gonna do these two movies
back-to-back that would challenge me
like I'd never been challenged before.
And, when I trained for "John Wick,"
my same training team went on with me to "Bruised."
So we really didn't miss a beat.
We sort of went from movie to movie.
Nice suit.
- Good to see you too.
- I should shoot you in the head right now.
- Immaculate sent you?
- Yeah.
- You used to be Jackie Justice, right?
- I still am.
When I thought about my directorial debut,
I never imagined that I would star in it.
And I certainly never imagined
that I would star in it with this big, huge role
that required so much of my time and attention.
Just performing that role and just directing a fight movie,
both of those jobs are largely enough, you know, to do solo.
So to be doing both of them in my debut
just seemed unthinkable to me,
and I wouldn't have sought that out.
What happened was when I convinced the producers
to let me play the part,
because the part was originally written for
a 20-something white Irish Catholic girl,
when I convinced them that it should be me,
a black middle-aged woman in a black world
in Newark, New Jersey,
when I convinced them that I should do that,
they then said to me, "Okay, great.
Now set out and find a filmmaker who can share your vision
and then we'll make the movie."
So I set out to find a director,
but the problem was this world that I had re-imagined
and that I pitched to the producers didn't really exist yet.
It wasn't on paper.
So then I finally had to go to the producer and say,
my other producers and say,
"You know, I know this is gonna sound crazy
and I've tried to find a filmmaker,
but I think it has to be me.
I think I'm the only one that really understands
all the facets of this story."
And, to my surprise, he said, "Yes."
And so, there I was.
And then I remember leaving that meeting, thinking,
"Holy shit, now I have to actually do it," you know?
And then I was off to the races.
Directing and acting in it proved to be stressful at times.
But I also realized
that I had been a working actor for 30 years
and I had to trust myself, trust everything I had learned,
trust every experience I had ever had.
And, I knew as a director that
if I hired the best actors I can hire,
if I hired, you know, great players that I could play with,
I could trust that, together, we would all find the truth
of what all these scenes were.
So, often women,
our stories have been told by men through their lens.
And I have sat through movie after movie.
And I thought, "That's just not how it is.
That's just not what's important to us," you know?
And, so to be a woman,
and be behind the camera,
and tell it from my perspective,
it felt really empowering too.
I can't wait to direct again if given the opportunity
and I will probably not direct and star in ever again.
I mean, I hate to say, Spike cautioned me.
He said, "Never say never."
So, I shudder saying never,
but, I would like to just direct next time.
I think directing and acting,
both of those jobs, are large enough.
And, there's many stories inside me
that I feel like I wanna tell if given the opportunity,
but I'm really wanting to tell
a love story
or something having to do with science fiction.
There could be a way to mix the two.