Halle Berry: Oscar award fails to transform career

Halle Berry has opened up about the reality of her historic Oscar win and why it did not transform her professional journey as she once expected.

In 2002, the Never Let Go actress won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Monster’s Ball, making her the first Black woman to receive the honor. In a recent interview with The Cut, she acknowledged that the achievement did not immediately lead to an abundance of opportunities.

“That Oscar didn’t necessarily change the course of my career,” Berry stated, adding, “After I won it, I thought there was going to be, like, a script truck showing up outside my front door.”

Halle Berry clarified that although receiving the prize was a gratifying accomplishment, she still faced systemic difficulties in Hollywood. “While I was wildly proud of it, I was still Black that next morning,” she said, recalling how directors questioned if her casting would fundamentally alter a film’s narrative.

She continued, “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.’”

Halle Berry also shared the counsel she gave to other actors, such as Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo. “You goddamn deserve it, but I don’t know that it’s going to change your life,” she told her. “It cannot be the validation for what you do, right?”

The 59-year-old star is now focusing on the satisfaction of her longevity in the industry. “As a Black woman, now almost 60, I still get to work in movies and do what I love,” she added. “I’m winning.”