Actress Halle Berry says her historic 2002 Oscar win failed to transform her career as expected, noting that directors remained hesitant to cast her in lead roles.
In a recent interview, the “Die Another Day” star explained that the truckload of scripts many anticipated never arrived, and she still had to fight for work after her win.
Berry became the only Black woman to win in the Best Actress category for her role in the 2001 film “Monster’s Ball”.
Directed by Marc Forster, the film revolved around Hank (Billy Bob Thornton), a prison guard, who is a part of a convicted murderer’s execution. When he meets a black woman Leticia Musgrove, played by Berry, he is smitten with her, not knowing that she is the murderer’s widow.
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“It didn’t necessarily change the course of my career. After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door. While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning. Directors were still saying, ‘If we put a Black woman in this role, what does this mean for the whole story? Do I have to cast a Black man? Then it’s a Black movie. Black movies don’t sell overseas,” she said.
Although Berry remains the only Black actor to receive an Oscar in the Best Actress category, Cynthia Erivo has been nominated in the category for her roles in “Harriet” and “Wicked”.
Berry revealed that she advised Erivo not to put any weight on winning an Oscar. “You deserve it, but I don’t know that it’s going to change your life. It cannot be the validation for what you do, right,” Berry told the actor.
Berry will next feature in Bart Layton’s directorial “Crime 101” with Chris Hemsworth. She essays the role of an insurance broker, Sharon Colvin, in the film.