If you’ve seen this summer’s action hit “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” (and if you haven’t, please correct that!), Halle Berry’s appearance as the title character’s begrudging ally, Sofia proved to be one of the major highlights of an action thriller with no shortage of them. Berry’s extensive training for the role, which she described as “life-changing”, really shows in the film’s show-stopping battle in Morocco. Having gotten into fighting shape with the best in the business for “Parabellum”, Berry is wasting no time in jumping into another action-heavy role; the upcoming MMA drama “Bruised”, which will also notably mark her directorial debut.
In addition to directing the movie, “Bruised” will also see Berry portray Jackie “Justice”, a disgraced MMA fighter hoping to reconnect with her estranged son Manny. Ultimately, Jackie’s efforts to rebuild her relationship with her son lead her to attempt a comeback in the MMA world.
Filming got underway for “Bruised” earlier this month, though the production has seen a minor setback after Berry experienced an injury while filming a fight scene, though said injury is reportedly minor. The director herself has addressed the injury on social media, while praising her trainer for the film, Rob Constance, which you can see below.
Halle Berry knows her kung fu!
Halle Berry’s involvement
Berry explained what drew her to the film and the themes present in “Bruised” earlier this year in an interview with The Big Ticket with Mark Malkin podcast, along with sharing how the project came to be her first as director. With the role of Jackie having originally been written for, as Berry describes, “a 22 year-old white woman”, Berry became more creatively involved with the film following her casting, which lead to the producers offering her the opportunity to direct.
As Berry explained, “I thought, ‘I can’t direct, this is a big acting role for me, I don’t think I should be directing as well.’ And they gave me so much confidence and helped me realize that, ‘But nobody understands it like you. Its storytelling and we definitely feel confident that you’ve got the story.’ And so I put that hat on for a week or so and I thought about how that felt and I realized, after 25 years in the business there is a lot I know about filmmaking.”
Her training from “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” continues…
Berry also explained that her training for “Bruised” essentially carried over from that of “Parabellum”, and anyone whose seen the latter will readily agree that she easily held her own onscreen alongside series veteran Keanu Reeves. Berry also recently showed off the end result of her extensive training for the film on social media, as well, and her recent injury has clearly done little to dampen her spirit in the early days of production on “Bruised”, with Berry describing it as “par for the course when you do your own stunts” in another Instagram post. Coming on the heels of “Parabellum” while also marking Halle Berry’s first time directing, “Bruised” is an MMA drama that martial arts movie aficionados will definitely want to keep on their radar!
