Why Halle Berry’s Scenes Got Cut Short in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’
Thanks to the X-Men franchise, Halle Berry was once synonymous with the Marvel superhero Storm. But when it was time to reprise her role as the mutant, she couldn’t play the character like she did in the past.
Halle Berry would reprise her role in Storm in ‘X-Men Days of Future Past’
Berry’s role as Storm seemed to increase with each subsequent X-Men film. Although she didn’t play as big of a part in the first movie, she was at the forefront of X2 and especially The Last Stand. After the original X-Men trilogy, the franchise moved in another direction, focusing on a younger version of the cast. But X-Men Days of Future Past saw the younger X-Men interact with older counterparts.
Many former X-Men stars would reprise their roles in Days of Future Past, including Berry. Berry’s Storm was supposed to feature prominently in the 2014 sequel as well. But an unexpected pregnancy forced major changes to Berry’s role as Storm.
“I wasn’t in [the movie] as much as I was meant to be,” Berry once told Total Film (via Us Weekly). “[Pregnancy] kind of colored what my involvement could be, which was why I was one of the first ones in and the first ones out.”
Her pregnancy also restricted Berry physically. As Storm, Berry was used to getting a bit physical, hanging on wires to simulate Storm’s mutant powers. However, the changes to her physique made it difficult for her to perform certain action scenes like she used to.
“My ever-growing belly was posing a constant challenge,” she said. “What I could do was getting more limited, so the role I play is so different from what it could have been, due to my surprise pregnancy.”
Fortunately, Berry could perform what few scenes she could due to already being in good shape.
“There’s no secret; I’ve just lived a healthy lifestyle,” she continued. “I only work out like three times a week, 30 minutes a pop. That and good clean living. As I’m getting older it’s just paying off.”
Halle Berry would get into fights with her ‘X-Men’ director Bryan Singer
Berry collaborated with filmmaker Bryan Singer several times during her time in the X-Men franchise. After the director’s alleged offenses came to light, Berry shared, as a few did, that the director might not have been the easiest to work with all the time. In an interview with Variety, Berry shared how things came to a head between herself and Singer.
“I would sometimes be very angry with him,” Berry said. “I got into a few fights with him, said a few cuss words out of sheer frustration. When I work, I’m serious about that. And when that gets compromised, I get a little nutty. But at the same time, I have a lot of compassion for people who are struggling with whatever they’re struggling with, and Bryan struggles.”
Berry confided that the core of their fights was Singer’s lack of focus at the time.
“Sometimes, because of whatever he’s struggling with, he just didn’t always feel present,” she said. “He didn’t feel there. And we’re outside in our little X-Men stage, freezing our asses off in Banff, Canada, with subzero weather, and he’s not focusing. And we’re freezing. You might get a little mad.”
‘X-Men’ screenwriter revealed why Halle Berry’s Storm got more screentime as the franchise progressed
Screenwriter David Hayter shared some behind-the-scenes info regarding Berry’s growth as Storm in X-Men. Hayter worked on the X-Men film at the time and noted that the priority was making Wolverine the focus.
“I’m a huge fan of Storm and I’m a huge fan of Halle Berry as that character,” Hayter once told The Hollywood Reporter. “But in that first movie, it’s not Storm’s movie. It’s a double love triangle between Wolverine, Jean, and Cyclops and Wolverine, Rogue, and Bobby. Those are the operative relationships, and unfortunately, because we had 11 main characters, there’s only so much screenplay real estate you can dedicate to each.”
But Berry’s growing star power and Oscar win made expanding on Storm’s role easier.
“I think Storm did get short shrift in the first film, but because of her Oscar and because she’s awesome, we all — the studio, Bryan, myself, and Marvel — said she has to play a stronger role and because she is a really interesting character philosophically and her powers are great — and she’s Halle Berry,” Hayter said.
