Halle Berry Reveals How a ‘Silly’ 1994 Movie Was a Game-Changer for Her as a Black Actress

Halle Berry has an Oscar on her bookshelf, but Monster’s Ball isn’t the movie that she’s reflecting on right now. The Flintstones is a much different genre, but it became a game-changing film in her career 30 years ago. 

In the 1994 film, based on the 1960s Hanna-Barbera Productionscartoon, Berry played Miss Sharon Stone, Fred Flintstone’s (John Goodman) flirtatious secretary. The role was originally going to be played by the real-life Sharon Stone, but she turned it down for a role in Intersection, per SyFy.com. When it was offered to Berry, she leaped at the opportunity because “being a Black woman in Bedrock seemed like a little thing but, you know, The Flintstones was the fabric of our culture,” she noted while rewatching the film for the first time in 20 years on Instagram.

“I knew that this was a big step forward for Black people, Black women especially,” she added. “While it was silly, and it was over the top and campy, I knew then how important this little part in this big movie actually would be.” The role didn’t just break the glass ceiling for Black actresses in Hollywood, it also gave fans the signature Berry short ‘do, or what she describes as “iconic” (and indeed it is). 

It’s important that the 57-year-old actress acknowledged how a franchise film, based on cartoon characters, heavily played into her career. Other performers might just dismiss it, but Berry sees its incredible value. “You guys message me every year about The Flintstones film so I thought I’d do something special for the 30th anniversary 🦴 🤍 Love you all for loving Miss Stone all this time,” she wrote in the caption. 

Just eight years later, Berry would go on to win an Oscar for Actress in a Leading Role for Monster’s Ball. She didn’t take that moment for granted and honored all of the Black women in Hollywood who opened doors for her to have that magical night in 2002. “This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox,” Berry said in her acceptance speech. “And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. Thank you. I’m so honored.”

Before you go, click here to see celebrity women of color share the first movie or TV character who made them feel seen.