Halle Berry once slammed ‘X-Men’ director on set, here’s what happened
Halle Berry, more than two decades after X2 hit cinemas, has revealed she has no regrets about confronting the film’s director on set, describing it as one of the most satisfying moments of her career.
Looking back on her time playing Storm in the X-Men franchise, Berry recently recalled standing up to director Bryan Singer during filming, saying she spoke out after feeling the entire cast and crew were being mistreated.
The actress said she became the spokesperson because others felt she was the only one who would actually do it.
“Everybody was mad, but they all said to me, ‘Halle, you go tell ’em,’ because they knew I would,” she told Entertainment Weekly.
“And it’s one of the greatest days on a set, telling someone who was wronging the entire crew, the entire cast, exactly where to go. And then I got on a plane and flew home with my X-Men suit on.”
She added bluntly: “I’m sorry, that guy deserved it.”
The incident happened during production on X2, the sequel to Singer’s original X-Men.
Singer went on to return to the franchise for X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse.
His most recent directing credit was Bohemian Rhapsody, though he was replaced during production by Dexter Fletcher following reported clashes with star Rami Malek.
Berry, who later crossed into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently shared mixed feelings about the upcoming Avengers crossover.
She admitted she is “sad” she won’t be reuniting with her former X-Men castmates in Avengers: Doomsday, but made it clear she would return “in a heartbeat” if asked for future mutant-related projects.
Many of her former co-stars are set to appear in the film, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, Kelsey Grammer and Channing Tatum.
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to premiere on 18 December. Meanwhile, work is already underway on a new X-Men chapter.
Director Jake Schreier, who is helming Marvel Studios’ reboot, recently confirmed development has begun, saying the process is “very, very exciting,” while stopping short of sharing details.
Outside of superhero films, Berry remains busy behind and in front of the camera through her production company HalleHolly, which she runs with Holly Jeter.
The company has lined up a packed slate of film and television projects, most of which Berry is attached to star in.
On the film side, she is set to lead The President Is Missing, an adaptation of the political thriller by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, currently in development. Berry will play President Duncan in a gender-swapped take.
She is also attached to Bad Cop, Bad Cop, an action comedy directed by Kay Cannon, where she will star alongside Fortune Feimster and Jillian Bell.
Her television projects include Zero F***s, a menopause-themed comedy in development at Peacock from writers Liz Kruger and Carolyn Townsend, and The Patient, a horror drama being developed at HBO with writer Laeta Kalogridis.
Berry may also star in the revenge drama Mother Doom, currently finalising a development deal at FX.
Additional film projects on her slate include Sunburn, Family Swap and Parole Officer, the latter of which HalleHolly and Imagine secured in a competitive bidding war.
The company has also partnered with Cathy Byrd to adapt her memoir The Boy Who Knew Too Much.
While her career continues to expand across genres and platforms, Berry’s reflection on her X-Men days shows she still values standing her ground, even when it meant calling out a powerful director on one of Hollywood’s biggest sets.
