Halle Berry started as a model and is now an Oscar-winning actress. Having showcased her acting range across various genres, she has garnered widespread recognition and critical acclaim from artists, audiences, and critics. However, one of her career’s best performances was in the movie Monster’s Ball.
The movie made her the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actress and highlighted her talent and versatility. Even though the movie helped solidify her place as an actress in Hollywood, it was also a movie she had to fight for, for the director wasn’t keen on hiring her.
Halle Berry Was Not The First Choice For Monster’s Ball
Monster’s Ball, although received largely mixed reviews, was commended for its unique way of exploring human grief, redemption, and prejudices. Critics and audiences praised the movie for its emotionally charged storytelling and the portrayal of the cast. But one person received the most praise, Halle Berry.
Thanks to her powerful performance of a widow battling the aftermath of her husband’s execution, she won the very first Oscar of her career. Even though she received widespread praise for the role, director Marc Forster wasn’t too keen to cast her in the movie.
Taking matters into her own hands, Berry having already read the script and convinced she would be the perfect choice for the role, went to Froster, convincing him to cast her (via Chicago Tribune),
“I just wouldn’t go away, [Forster] let me have a meeting with him, and I just discussed why I liked the script, how I saw myself as the character. I was just really passionate about it, and at the end of the day I think I just wore him down.”
However, it wasn’t her insistence that made the director have her in the movie but her passion for the role that ended up conniving him.
Marc Forster Cast Halle Berry After Witnessing Her Passion For The Role
Although Halle Berry spent the whole meeting trying to convince Forster to cast her, he wasn’t at all worn down by her, He wasn’t sure that he would want to give such a pivotal role, that every Black actress had been campaigning for, to a glamorous star as Berry.
However, her passion for the role eventually made him say yes, as he explained to the Chicago Tribune.
“Her passion was so much stronger than anybody who I met. There was a certain vulnerability in her eyes that I felt nobody really tapped into yet, and I felt if we’re both honest and communicated to each other, we could really do something special.”
And Forster did make the right decision since it was Berry’s performance that largely helped make the movie a success.
Monster’s Ball can be rented on Google Play Movies.
