Halle Berry has reflected on the harsh realities she faced even after winning an Oscar, revealing that directors still refused to cast her and noting, “I was still Black the next morning.”
While conversing with The Cut, the Die Another Day starlet revealed that she once advised Cynthia Erivo not to place any real weight on winning an Oscar.
“That Oscar didn’t necessarily change the course of my career,” Berry told the publication.
She added, “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.’”
Berry also told the Wicked star, “You goddamn 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?”
To note, Erivo has been nominated twice for best actress Harriet and Wicked.
On the other hand, Berry made history as the first Black woman to win the Oscar for best actress with her performance in Monster’s Ball.
