Whoever told Halle Berry to have a back-up plan should probably lay low.
The Oscar-winning actress revealed that "have a back-up plan" was the worst advice she's ever received while participating in Entertainment Weekly's "Bold School" this week:
"You never want a back-up plan because if you have a back-up plan, chances are you'll fall to your back-up plan," Berry explained. "And if you really have a dream, I think you have to have blinders on, and you have to have only one goal, and you have to be relentless in your pursuit of that goal. So, when I got told 'have a back-up plan,' I said, 'Screw that. Not gonna have a back-up plan.'"
Conversely, within the full "Bold School" segment, Berry shared that the best pieces of advice she's been given are "march to the beat of my own drum," "run my own race" and "never compare yourself."
The 55-year-old actress also touched on how she has found a new voice through every decade of her life and career and what she has to say to people who "weaponize the words that we as women innately are, which is emotional and sensitive."
Berry had been unveiled as the cover star of EW's September issue on Aug. 10:
.@halleberry has fought her way to the top of the entertainment world! Ahead of her directorial debut, #Bruised, she sounds off about fame, aging, and speaking truth to Hollywood. https://t.co/mtlvdgX1RX Story by @Leahbats pic.twitter.com/f3ZM0Ialuc
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 10, 2021
The accompanying cover story by Leah Greenblatt detailed Berry's upcoming directorial debut when Bruised hits Netflix on Nov. 24. The indie sports drama stars Berry as disgraced MMA fighter Jackie Justice as she simultaneously fights for custody of her son and for one last chance at glory in the octagon.
“I had to fight to be a director, like I had to fight to have a second act.” Despite success, @halleberry has had to prove herself over and over in Hollywood. With new movie #Bruised, she’s taking on directing and finding a new voice.
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 10, 2021
Our cover story: https://t.co/mtlvdgX1RX pic.twitter.com/pVAUE7C2DF
"It used to be when you were 40 your career was done, and I mean really done," Berry told Greenblatt. "Or you had to wait until you were old enough to play a grandma, and then you could have another bite at the apple, right? I mean, I couldn't think that I'd be playing an MMA fighter at 54 years old. Yet I did, so it's got to be changing. I'm proof of that."
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