'Being of colour' still makes it hard for Halle Berry to get roles
Halle Berry is continuing the conversation about Oscar-winning women of colour in Hollywood. Last week, Mo’Nique revealed she was “blackballed” after taking home the Best Supporting Actress trophy in 2010 for “Precious." Though Berry became the first (and so far only) black woman to win a Best Actress Oscar in 2002 for “Monster’s Ball” she hasn't been without career hurdles since then.
In a new interview with The Guardian, the 48-year-old “Extant” star, who went on to headline “Die Another Day” and various “X-Men” installments following her Academy Award win, has shed light on how hard it is to be a woman of colour in Hollywood -- even if you have an Oscar. Here are some of her biggest revelations:
She’s 'disappointed' she’s the only Best Actress woman of colour
No women of colour were nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Oscars, though two have recently won for Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o won for “12 Years a Slave” last year, Octavia Spencer for “The Help” in 2012). “I would like to see more of them recognized, absolutely, but we all need to find the win in the work, and doing our craft,” Berry said. “The real win is when we’re not just selling stories of colour, that people of colour can be in everyday stories. Where we’re not saying: ‘These are the movies for black people.’”
For her, finding roles is no easier with an Oscar
Berry believes that her skin colour has always gotten in the way of her career and continues to do so even in the 13 years since her Oscar win. I’ve always had a hard time getting roles, being of colour, so I’ve got as many available to me as I’ve always had – there’s no difference for me,” she told The Guardian. “When I was 21, it was as hard as it is now when I’m 48. For me it’s the same.”
She wants to make an Angela Davis movie
Angelia Davis is a 71-year-old Civil Rights activist who rose to fame in the ’60s as the leader of the Communist Party USA and because of her association with The Black Panther Party. “I don’t think she wants a story of her life to be told at this time, and I would never do that without her blessing. But that has always been a passion of mine,” Berry said. “She’s just fascinating: the era she lived in, the Black Panthers and all that they stood for, and her connection to it, or not to it. I have a lot of respect for how she lived her life.”
