Halle Berry’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked

Halle Berry’s best films include action thrillers, sci-fi epics, and Oscar-nominated dramas. Berry has been in more than 60 films and television shows since making her acting debut in 1989’s Living Dolls and became a household name in Hollywood throughout the ’90s and 2000s. Berry began her career as a model and has competed in Miss USA and Miss World competitions. Before she made her big break in Hollywood, a young Berry lived in a homeless shelter in New York City when she first arrived for auditions.

Berry experienced health issues while she was acting in the short-lived series Living Dolls, suffering from a coma and developing type 1 diabetes. Berry eventually moved to Los Angeles where she was able to make her film debut in a Spike Lee film in 1991. Berry has earned an Academy Award, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe throughout her successful Hollywood career. Some of her most notable films include her star roles in Catwoman (2004), Gothika (2003), and Die Another Day (2002). Berry has two films currently slated for a 2024 release, The Union and The Mothership.

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10 Cloud Atlas (2012)

Jocasta Ayrs, Luisa Rey & More

Cloud Atlas is often considered one of the most inventive and ambitious movies in recent film history which many viewers and critics alike are divided on even to this day. Berry plays several roles in the film that jump around in time to portray the interconnectedness of all actions and consequences, even between lifetimes. Cloud Atlas is one of Berry’s best films for the sheer amount of vision it has alone, although the film, which is partially directed by the Wachowski’s (The Matrix), but is ultimately outsized by its scope and convolution.

9 Bulworth (1998)

Nina

Bulworth contains one of Berry’s first roles onscreen as the formidable Nina. The political romantic dramedy stars Warren Beatty as Jay Bulworth and is also written and directed by him in his fourth feature film. Bulworth has a lot of political edge and satire with relevancy for the time it was made, so modern audiences might need a brief history lesson in order to fully grasp the full effect of the film. There are a great deal of ideological truths in the film, which makes it a truly unique viewing experience with some parallels to today’s political climate.

8 Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)

Audrey Burke

Berry stars alongside Benicio Del Toro in Things We Lost in the Fire, a somber yet powerful drama with themes of grief and the road to recovery. The true highlight of the film is Del Toro’s complex and emotionally challenging performance as Jerry, stealing most of the scenes he appears in. Berry matches his integrity well and the two create a very compelling onscreen dynamic albeit a sad one, finding a great deal of sensitivity in the careful handling of heavy subject matter.

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7 X-Men (2000)

Storm

Berry starred as Storm in Bryan Singer’s original X-Men movie in 2000 along with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Patrick Stewart’s Xavier, and Ian McKellen’s Magneto. Berry establishes herself in one of her career-defining roles in the world of X-Men, with the hope that she will return to the role at some point in the future. X-Men represents the superhero movie before Marvel’s revolutionary takeover of the genre, acting as a fun comic book movie that feels like a classic blockbuster similar to the Spide-Man movies of the 2000s.

6 Jungle Fever (1991)

Vivian

Halle Berry’s film debut was in Spike Lee’s 1991 drama Jungle Fever, which also stars Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Turturro. Berry plays a drug addict named Vivian in the romantic drama which tackles a community’s reaction to an affair between a black architect and an Italian secretary. The film was made not long after Lee’s 1989 magnum opus Do The Right Thing and contains much of the colorful passion that was one display without the same abrupt in-your-face tone. Berry would go on to get many opportunities after this role.

5 Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)

Dorothy Dandridge

Berry would win an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Berry portrays the real-life story of singer, dancer, and actress Dorothy Dandridge, who became the first black actress to be nominated for Best Actress at the 1954 Academy Awards. The film shows several intricate layers of Dorothy Dandridge’s true life story, including an affair with director Otto Preminger. The film also offers a close examination of racism in 1950s America as Berry personifies Dorothy Dandridge with flawless grace and precision of her character.

4 X2 (2003)

Ororo Munroe / Storm

X2 saw Halle Berry reprise her role as Storm in the follow-up to the 2000 hit X-Men. In the case of Singer’s first two X-Men films, the sequel outdid the original, earning roughly $406 million at the worldwide box office compared to the 2000 movies’ roughly $300 million revenue. X2 improves on the original film in just about every department although the script is not exactly the most compelling part of the film. The characters once again do most of the heavy lifting for the film’s appeal as well as the fun blockbuster action sequences which separates the film from its predecessor.

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3 Monster’s Ball (2001)

Leticia Musgrove

Berry won her first and only Academy Award for Monster’s Ball, a Marc Forster film starring Billy Bob Thornton. The premise alone is eye-catching, following a racist prison guard who falls in love with the black wife of the latest prisoner he had a hand in executing. The real power of the film stems from Berry and Thornton’s acting and chemistry, as they are able to provide vulnerable and intimate portrayals of their characters who learn how to hurdle racial boundaries through the lens of thoughtful yet intense filmmaking.

2 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)

Sofia

Berry stars alongside Keanu Reeves in his incredibly successful and profitable John Wick franchise, appearing in the third installment of the action movie series. Berry plays the manager of the Casablanca Branch of the Continental Hotel who becomes an ally to him throughout the movie. There are currently talks to expand on Berry’s Sofia character within the John Wick universe, although she did not appear in the recent John Wick: Chapter 4.

1 X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Storm

The best film that Halle Berry has starred in is X-Men: Days of Future Past. Singer continued to improve his filmmaking approach with the X-Men movies and found success with the ambitious yet effective Days of Future Past. The film is jam-packed with characters, storylines, and, of course, action sequences, but is done in a way that still feels balanced and well-crafted. With a star-studded cast including Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence, X-Men: Days of Future Past is Halle Berry’s best movie.