Actor Halle Berry has been actively promoting her upcoming film Bruised, which is also her first film as a director. Most recently, she appeared at UFC 268 to reach MMA fans. And this past weekend, she was featured on CBS Sunday Morning to talk about the movie, in which she portrays a MMA fighter making a comeback, and her acting career.
Just a couple @ufc fans chopping it up before #UFC268..
Btw, @halleberry’s directorial debut, #Bruised, premieres later this month on @netflix. pic.twitter.com/SuvPw0kJTm
— Michael Eaves (@michaeleaves) November 5, 2021
The initial reaction for many is surprise that someone so beautiful would subject herself to getting pummeled in the octagon and look anything but glamorous on the screen.
“I don’t think anybody was really ready for me to show up as the fighter that I’ve become,” Berry explained to Kelefa Sanneh.
But the Academy Award-winning actor (2002 Best Actress for Monster’s Ball) said that she’s been a fan of fighting since childhood, often watching boxing on weekends. She thinks that the men in the ring helped fill in as the father figure she lacked in her real life.
Check out the CBS Sunday Morning segment:
“Watching boxing on the weekends was my favorite pastime,” said Berry. “I would imagine that these men like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman and [Marvin] Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard, like they were in my family.”
Related: Halle Berry MMA movie, ‘Bruised,’ purchased by Netflix
Berry is certainly familiar with martial arts fighting, having to train for action roles in movies like John Wick: Chapter 3, four X-Men films, Die Another Day, and Catwoman for years. But portraying fighter Jackie Justice in the cage was a different circumstance than a staged fight scene. Not to mention that she had to carry the movie as the lead and work behind the camera as a director.
“Nobody wants to get punched in the face, especially not a woman,” said Berry. “Like, it’s not in our DNA to get punched in the face!”
The CBS Sunday Morning feature might have a bit more entertaining if Sanneh let Berry knock him around a bit in the cage or on the mat. But like Berry said, nobody wants to get punched in the face.
Bruised premieres Nov. 24 on Netflix.
[CBS News]
About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.