“I Felt Like I Was Really Fighting”- Halle Berry on Filming With Valentina Shevchenko

Published 04/22/2020, 1:16 PM EDT

Actors while filming often jump out of the fictional world, sometimes due to enthusiasm and sometimes because their role demands it. Either way, that’s when actors often sustain real injuries, like Halle Berry did. Thanks to Valentina Shevchenko.

The Academy Award-winning actress sustained a minor injury while filming the MMA film, Bruised, in New Jersey. Owing to the seriousness of the injury, the shoot suffered a delay as a precautionary measure.

“I broke some stuff on this one. It’s Ok. I always get hurt but I realized that when you go hard, you’re bound to get hurt. When you do your own stunts, you’re bound to get hurt.”- Halle Berry on The Tonight Show

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The film saw Berry play, Jackie “Justice”. A disgraced MMA fighter, fighting inside and outside the ring, looking to find her way back to her 6-year-old son, Manny.

Valentina Shevchenko plays her rival in the film. And Berry claims that she had to go toe to toe with the 32-year-old fighter on multiple occasions.

“In this movie, I was fighting the real UFC flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, and you know what? She had to throw some real kicks and I had to really take them and that really broke some bones. She’s a beast but I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher, a better scene mate, a better fight partner.”- Halle Berry

Valentina Shevchenko Did Not Pull Her Punches

The 53-year-old actress lauds the southpaw for being an outstanding co-star. In addition, Berry claims that Shevchenko brought a sense of authenticity and credibility to the set.

“She just brought so much reality to it for me. At times, I felt like I was really fighting. Like our referee that was in the movie is a real referee and he says a couple times ‘Man I thought I was watching a real fight.’ Because she brought so much power and authenticity to our fight scenes.”- Halle Berry

Similarly, Shevchenko hurls praises at Berry and the premise of the entire film.

“Of course when I get this opportunity from Halle to be part of her movie, of course, I thought it’s a great idea. I read the script and it was a very inspirational story about a mixed martial arts female who is struggling, not only about the sport about also about making herself better, her life better and I thought this is a great opportunity.”- Valentina Shevchenko to MMA Fighting

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Towards the end of their tenure together, the Kyrgyzstani fighter and Berry had grown so close that the actress attended Shevchenko’s last fight at UFC 247. Where the southpaw dropped Katlyn Chookagian in the third round.

“It was an amazing experience. Halle, she’s really a wonderful person. It’s very easy to work with her. Like example, she wanted something from me and she knew the exact words to make me work as necessary for the movie for my character. I can’t wait for it to be released.”- Valentina Shevchenko

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The film Bruised marks Berry’s directional debut.

Will you be the first one to watch it when it hits the theatres?

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“I Felt Like I Was Really Fighting”- Halle Berry on Filming With Valentina Shevchenko

Valentina Shevchenko Did Not Pull Her Punches

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