Halle Berry was allegedly tricked into her acting role in the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand, according to film director Matthew Vaughn.
During his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Vaughn revealed he was tapped to direct the X-Men film but later left after realizing there were some issues with getting Berry to sign on. According to Vaughn, he was hired to direct the movie, but the actress hadn't signed anything despite her previous co-stars such as Hugh Jackman and others being on board.
Vaughn claimed he went to the office of one of the film's executives and saw a script that had more pages than the one he originally saw. When he asked why the script was longer, he was told not to worry about it.
"He wouldn't tell me, so I grabbed it literally — it was like a crazy moment — opened the first page, and it said, 'Africa. Storm. Kids dying of no water. She creates a thunderstorm and saves all these children,'" he said.
Vaughn thought the addition was a "pretty cool idea" but was confused as it wasn't in the original script. He explained that the movie execs told him Berry wanted the scene included, and said it would be scrapped once Berry signed on for the role. According to Vaughn, he wouldn't tolerate the disrespect towards an "Oscar-winning actress" and turned the movie down.
"[I went,] 'What is this?' [They said,] 'Oh, it's Halle Berry's script. I went, 'OK, because she hasn't signed up yet.' 'But this is what she wants it to be, and once she signs up, we'll throw it in the bin,'" the director said, recalling the executive's response. "I was like, 'Wow, you're gonna do that to an Oscar-winning actress who plays Storm? I'm outta here.' So I quit at that point."
Berry ended up starring in the film, but the scene she allegedly wanted was not in the final cut. And even though he didn't get to direct the movie, Vaughn did eventually helm the 2011 film X-Men: First Class.
