Halle Berry Says 'Moonfall' Role As NASA Director Was Important

In February, Lionsgate debuted a new movie dubbed "Moonfall." The science-fiction disaster flick featured Halle Berry and other talented actors including, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, and Donald Sutherland.

Berry, known for her award-winning role in the 2001 romantic drama "Monster's Ball," starred as the deputy director of NASA in "Moonfall." Since its debut, the apocalyptic film has garnered mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, and there have been some talks about releasing a sequel in the future.

In the meantime, Berry has reflected on her role in the film, expressing her gladness at starring as the fictional head of America's leading space agency. Find out more below.

In a recent chat with People, Berry gave a heart-touching discussion about her role in "Moonfall." The actress admitted that not only did she enjoy starring in the film, but her character also possessed more value than it might seem on the surface.

"This role was really written for a man and probably a white man," Berry told the news outlet. "So to put a Black woman in that role was really important to me.

Berry reflected on her childhood in the interview. She referenced moments when she watched movies that featured black females in lead roles. The actress compared those times and her recent feature, detailing how it helped impact her future career choices.

"That was one of the things that really inspired me about playing this character because I know how important those kinds of role models and images were in film and television when I was little," she added. "They helped me dream."

In the film, Berry's character Jocinda "Jo" Fowler had to choose between seeking refuge with her kid and blasting out into space to help preserve the world as the moon's orbital shift threatens to destroy it. Ultimately, she joined the crew to go on the journey and helped save the earth from impending doom after luckily surviving several mishaps along the way.

Having to make such tough decisions was one of the many downsides to the job in the movie. The actress then cited that her relationship with her character's son mirrored her real-life ties with her daughter Nahla, 13, and son Maceo, 8, in a way that showed the difficulty of balancing family and profession.

Berry knows what it feels like to juggle motherhood and her career. However, leaving her kids to go to work sometimes comes with a feeling of guilt which she constantly fights off.

"I do find it's sometimes hard to leave them and go away and do my job," Berry said.

"And there's this thing called mom guilt. I'm not so sure men feel it as quite deeply as we feel it as women, but I fight against that because I want my children to grow and know that they can be parents and they can have careers that they love at the same time."

Berry fights off the guilt by taking solace in her love for acting, and as such, leaving her kids for a while to stay on movie sets is a bit easier to do.

"I'm a single mom, and I'm a working mother — the breadwinner in my family — and so working is very much what I have to do, but it's also what I love to do," the "X-Men" star said. "So when I have to go away to work, I make a point of letting my children know, 'Yes, I'm going because I have to afford our life, but I also love what I'm doing.'"

The Academy Award winner admitted that work-life balance might not always be possible. Nevertheless, she tries her best to make the right choice.