The Real Reason Hollywood Stopped Casting Halle Berry

In 1989, Halle Berry was living in a homeless shelter in New York City. In 1991, she made her big screen debut in Spike Lee's critically acclaimed Jungle Fever, and in 2002, she became the first black woman to win the Academy Award for best actress for her mesmerizing turn in the slow burn Southern drama Monster's Ball. At the age of 36, Berry was sitting firmly at the top of her profession. So with her acting prowess and a seemingly long career ahead, where did it all go wrong? Let's take a deep dive into why Hollywood isn't infatuated with Berry anymore.


It all started with Gothika

After a few supporting roles in studio tentpole films, Berry's first leading role following Monster's Ball was as a psychiatrist accused of murder in the psychological horror thriller Gothika. Although it made a respectable $141.6 million at the box office, the movie was a critical disaster.

 Empire  called it an "overwrought horror movie that lavishes budget and production design on a screenplay that should never have seen the light of day."

Okay, so she made a bad movie, but who hasn't? At this point, it seemed like Berry simply needed to pick better projects, right?

Then Catwoman happened

Yes, that Catwoman. Initially designed as a Michelle Pfeiffer and Tim Burton spin-off that died in development hell, Berry eventually donned the ears in 2006 and delivered one of the biggest box-office bombs ever produced.

Making just $40 million domestically on a $100 million production budget, Catwoman was ripped to shreds by critics, nominated for seven Razzies, and made studios scared to pull the trigger on a female-lead superhero movie for almost 15 years. In a 2016 Facebook Live interview with Business Insider, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins (who pitched her 2017 superhero film to Warner Bros. in 2007) was asked why her girl power blockbuster took so long to get made. Spoiler: Catwoman was referenced.

The only good thing for Berry to come out of Catwoman was her $14 million salary. We hope that cushioned the blow.

She accepted her Razzie in person

Not many actors have the courage to accept their Razzie in person, but Berry did just that at the 25th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards. With her Academy Award in hand, Berry lampooned her Oscar acceptance speech and thanked Warner Bros. "for casting me in this piece-of-s**t, god-awful movie." She didn't stop there. "I'd like to thank the rest of the cast," she continued. "To give a really bad performance like mine, you need to have really bad actors."

There's something to be said for accepting defeat graciously, but I expect the studio probably wishes she had not.

A run of flops ensued

After doing voiceover in 2005's animated Robots and donning a superhero suit for the last time in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, it felt like the timing was right for Berry to return to the screen as a leading lady again. Alas, that didn't work out. At all.

What followed instead was a series of flops. In 2007, it was Perfect Stranger, in which "Berry does her utmost to maintain poise while treading around the mess," per Empire. Also that year, she starred in Things We Lost in the Fire, which grossed only $3.2 million domestically. In 2010's Frankie & Alice, Berry plays a stripper with multiple personality disorder. That flick earned only $695,000 domestically. The year 2012 was no better for Berry: Dark Tide made $432,000 on a $25 million budget, and Cloud Atlas was considered one of the biggest flop of the year. The next year, Berry appeared in Movie 43 and The Call, which also failed to make a mark.

Needless to say, that was not a great run. Even though reviews for the aforementioned films often didn't place the blame squarely on Berry, the end results certainly didn't do her any favors in Hollywood.

Her personal life is a bit messy

Berry's personal life has been a source of tabloid fodder for years. Her 1993 marriage to baseball player David Justice ended with her contemplating suicide, and her marriage to singer Eric Benet concluded with him checking into rehab for sex addiction. Her relationship with French model Gabriel Aubry concluded with a tumultuous child custody battle that put Berry on the hook for $20,000 a month in child support. Her third marriage to actor Olivier Martinez also ended in divorce after two years.

While plenty of celeb relationships spawn messy headlines, Berry's personal drama may have overshadowed her professional pursuits and made some studios hesitant to work with her.

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