Halle Berry Reveals Why It Was Important To Play Catwoman
There's no beating around the bush. 2004’s Catwoman was a catastrophe in every sense of the word. From the underwhelming action sequences to the over-sexualization of its heroine, this is a superhero movie without any claws. And yet, actress Halle Berry doesn’t fully regret stepping into the skintight catsuit. In a recent interview with Variety, Berry discussed her acting career in retrospect, revealing why it was important for her to take on the role.
The year before Catwoman, Berry became the first (and only) Black woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Monster’s Ball. Because of this, others warned her to pick her projects wisely. That meant avoiding cheesy action movies like Catwoman. But Berry jumped on the opportunity to add diversity to DC’s superhero lineup. “People said to me, ‘You can’t do that. You’ve just won the Oscar,’” said Berry. “Because I didn’t do Jinx, I thought, ‘This is a great chance for a woman of color to be a superhero. Why wouldn’t I try this?’”
While her intentions were in the right place, Berry realized that Catwoman wouldn’t allow her to play a strong, dynamic character. “The story didn’t feel quite right,” she stated. “I remember having that argument: ‘Why can’t Catwoman save the world like Batman and Superman do? Why is she just saving women from a face cream that cracks their face off?’ But I was just the actor for hire. I wasn’t the director. I had very little say over that.”
But Berry's effort wasn't entirely in vain. Over the past few years, we've begun to see a more diverse pool of actors in the superhero genre. Another woman of color, Zoe Kravitz, is playing Catwoman in Matt Reeves’ upcoming superhero flick The Batman.
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