Halle Berry Reveals the Day She Finally Confronted Bryan Singer on the X-Men Set: “He Deserved It”

Halle Berry is opening up about a role that feels very personal to her. In her new thriller Crime 101, she plays Sharon, a woman who feels invisible at work and fed up with being ignored. The story follows Sharon as she joins forces with a jewel thief after being passed over for a promotion. The film also stars Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Berry said her own life experiences are what pulled her toward the part. She explained that dealing with ageism, sexism, and racism in Hollywood made the role feel real to her.

“I thought, wow, I have an opportunity here to put in film something that I’m wildly passionate about personally,” she said. She added that this is not always the case with acting, since many roles feel far removed from her real life. “But this was so me.”

That closeness also made the role tricky. Berry admitted it was hard to separate herself from the character at first. “My struggle with this character was because it was so me, how do I make it feel like a character and not feel like it was Halle up there just having her say?” she shared. In the end, she decided to embrace the overlap. She said director Bart Layton supported that choice and allowed her real feelings to come through on screen.

One powerful scene in the movie shows Sharon finally standing up to her boss. When asked if she had ever done something similar in real life, Berry did not hesitate. “Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. Oh, yes,” she said before recalling a moment from her time working on the X-Men films. She described confronting director Bryan Singer during the making of X2 in 2003.

Berry said the entire cast and crew were upset at the time and pushed her to speak up. “Everybody was mad, but they all said to me, ‘Halle, you go tell ’em,’ because they knew I would,” she recalled. She described it as one of her most satisfying days on set.

“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.” Ruffalo, who was present during the interview, laughed and praised her story. Berry added firmly, “I’m sorry, that guy deserved it.”

The incident has been mentioned before by actor Alan Cumming in his memoir, where he described Berry standing up to Singer after tensions boiled over. A representative for Singer later denied the claims in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, saying the incident did not happen.

Crime 101 is now playing in theaters. The film blends a tense crime story with themes many people can relate to, especially women who feel overlooked at work.

Berry’s honesty is refreshing. It is rare to hear a major star speak so openly about standing up for herself and others, especially in an industry where silence is often expected. Her story adds more weight to the role she plays on screen. What do you think about Halle Berry speaking out about her past and bringing her real-life struggles into her work? Share your thoughts in the comments.