Halle Berry Opens Up About Motherhood, Method Acting & Her New Thriller 'Never Let Go'

If you follow celebs, new films and the entertainment world in general, then chances are you've spotted Halle Berry during the past few weeks in promotions for her gripping new survival thriller, Never Let Go. Directed by Alexandre Aja, the eerie film revolves around a single mother who tries to protect her two sons from an unseen evil spirit. It's a layered masterpiece that raises thought-provoking questions about parenting, trauma and mental health—and according to Berry, these were the themes that resonated most deeply with her as a mom.

I had the pleasure of participating in a press event to promote Berry's new film, which was produced by her recently launched company, HalleHolly. She said, "I had never seen a family like this. As a mother, I thought, 'Wow.' It captured my imagination and I thought, 'What if I had two children who were born in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and we never left there? What would that really be like?' That so fascinated me and I wanted to really think that through and bring authenticity to that world."

The 58-year-old actress also discussed the parallels between herself and her character, noting how her own upbringing has impacted her parenting approach, much like Mama in the film. She said, "I know I have suffered from that in my life, the stuff that my parents spilled on me. I say we pour some stuff and then we spill other things. I have a lot of spills, and I've spent my whole life trying to deal with those spills. So this hit me to my core, this mother who was dealing with her own traumas, her own abuse as a child, and then as a young woman, as a wife, as a mother, how would she navigate that, finding herself in this situation? How would those spills show up, and how would she manage it?"

The Catwoman actress is currently a mom of two, including 16-year-old Nahla and 10-year-old Maceo. And when it comes to her own parenting methods, one of her biggest priorities is teaching her kids responsibility. She also highlighted the importance of supporting her kids without overly sheltering them.

She explained, "So my daughter, she's 16, she has ADD (attention deficit disorder) so she's on medication. So, every morning, she has to come downstairs to take her pills. She thinks she comes downstairs to take her pills. She comes downstairs, and I put the pills out because I know she'll forget. That's part of ADD. So I figure I'll put the pills out. She comes down, opens the pills and says, 'Mom, where's the water?' I said, 'Hold it, you have to go get the water.'"

Berry continued, "I don't buy water anymore. We have the filtration [system], but it's in the laundry room on that sink. So I said, 'Well, boo, you have to go get the water.' She's like, 'But mom, that's in the laundry room.' Now, the laundry room is five steps from where we are. And I said, 'Nahla...five steps.' She says, 'Mom, can't you get it?' I said, 'No, I bought the pills and I laid them out, you have to [get it].'"