The “Crime 101” star recalls a time she stood up for herself on a film set.

Halle Berry calls confronting X-Men director Bryan Singer one of her ‘greatest days’ on set: ‘That guy deserved it’

The "Crime 101" star recalls a time she stood up for herself on a film set.

By Mike Miller

Mike Miller

Mike Miller is the executive editor on the movies team at . He previously worked as a writer-reporter for PEOPLE and TMZ.

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February 13, 2026 11:00 a.m. ET

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- Halle Berry stars in *Crime 101 *as a woman who faces discrimination at her workplace — a subject the actress has long been outspoken about in her own line of work.

- In a satisfying scene, Berry's character, Sharon, finally confronts her sexist boss.

- Berry says the moment is reminiscent of a famous incident from her career when she confronted her *X-2 *director, Bryan Singer.

**This article contains a mild spoiler about *Crime 101*.**

Halle Berry plays a role close to her own heart in her new thriller, *Crime 101*.

Starring alongside Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, the Oscar winner portrays Sharon, an insurance broker at a major firm who's overlooked and undervalued due to her age and gender. When her boss passes her over for a promotion, she teams up with a jewel thief (Hemsworth) to get revenge and an overdue payday.

In an interview alongside her costars, Berry tells * *that her personal experience battling ageism, sexism, and racism in Hollywood is "exactly what drew" her to the part.

"I thought, wow, I have an opportunity here to put in film something that I'm wildly passionate about personally," she explains. "And that's not always the case when you take on a character. Sometimes they're so far from you. It's nice to get into a new skin and experience something different, but this was so me."

While that shared experience attracted her to the role, it also presented challenges. "My struggle with this character was because it was so me, how do I make it feel like a character and not feel like it was Halle up there just having her say, right?" she says with a laugh.

Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry in 'Crime 101'.

"But then I realized along the way it was okay to have it be a little bit me, a little bit Sharon, because my say feels really important in the world for women right now. And so I just leaned into that, and [director] Bart [Layton] let me lean into that and let that part of me shine through."

In one of the film's most satisfying moments, Berry's Sharon goes nuclear on her sexist boss, venting her frustrations while also warning a new, younger female colleague to watch out for his games.

Asked if she ever got the chance to stand up for herself in a similar way, Berry says, "Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. A really famous one, when I got to tell Bryan Singer just where to go and how to get there on the set of *X-Men* one day."

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As has been widely reported, Berry and some of her costars, including Alan Cumming, who described the incident in his memoir, confronted the director over his alleged bad behavior during the production of 2003's *X-2. *Berry starred as the mutant Storm in four X-Men films, three of which were directed by Singer.

"Everybody was mad, but they all said to me, 'Halle, you go tell 'em,' because they knew I would," Berry recalls. "And it's one of the greatest days on a set, telling someone who was wronging the entire crew, the entire cast, exactly where to go. And then I got on a plane and flew home with my X-Men suit on."

Halle Berry in 'X-Men: Last Stand'.

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"That's the best story," Ruffalo tells Berry with a laugh. "You have great stories."

"I'm sorry, that guy deserved it," she adds.

In an excerpt from his memoir, *Baggage: Tales From a Fully Packed Life*, Cumming wrote that Berry told the director he could "kiss my Black ass" after he lashed out at the cast for confronting him.

A representative for Singer, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct on numerous occasions, all of which he has denied, told *The Hollywood Reporter *of the alleged incident, "Nothing like that ever happened."

*Crime 101 *is in theaters now.

*With reporting by Jorie McDonald.***

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