Halle Berry isn’t shying away from the realities of aging in Hollywood – she’s putting them front and center in her latest role.
In the new thriller “Crime 101,” Berry stars alongside Chris Hemsworth in a story about ambition, morality and survival – and portrays a woman confronting professional setbacks and ageism at a pivotal moment in her career.
The Amazon MGM Studios film, which came out Feb. 13, follows an elusive jewel thief played by Hemsworth whose string of high-stakes heists has baffled police. When he sets his sights on the score of a lifetime, his path collides with Sharon, a disillusioned insurance broker played by Berry, whose own professional and personal struggles put her at a turning point.
Berry said she immediately connected with the role and that Sharon’s character reflects her own experiences navigating her career as she’s gotten older. Berry, 59, was honored on Forbes and Know Your Value’s 2025 “50 Over 50” list, for her advocacy on women’s health and menopause awareness.
“The character of Sharon was really important, because she lives right where I am,” Berry told MSNOW’s Huma Abedin. “I’m at this age, and I have the same struggle, I think, as she does, trying to find a way to stay not only relevant within my business, but to be allowed to continue in my business, and to not to feel diminished because I’m aging.”
Berry didn’t hold back when discussing societal expectations placed on women.
“It’s the most natural thing in the world to do, but somehow, as an aging woman, you feel like you have to stay forever 30 or else, society has no room for you, and the workplace has no room for you,” she said. “And I just feel like that’s a bunch of BS, and I refuse to accept that to be true, and that’s who Sharon is.”
The Oscar winner said portraying Sharon required little emotional stretch because the challenges mirror her daily reality.
“They were right on my sleeve. They were right on my sleeve because it is my everyday,” Berry said. “What was great about this role was I got to really take real life and channel it through art.”
Meanwhile, Hemsworth’s jewel thief character brings audiences into a morally complex world where right and wrong are oftentimes blurred. The actor said the film made him reflect on how easily people categorize others.
“I think it’s good to understand the things aren’t as black and white and categorized as we’d like to place them in,” Hemsworth said. “We live in the gray.”
He added that playing the character challenged his perspective on judgment and human behavior.
“Who are we to judge at any point,” Hemsworth said. “ … In the past, I’ve been so quick to sort of label something and think I know an answer to it… I think it’s far more complex than I think the older I’ve gotten that I’ve used to think.”
Berry echoed that sentiment, saying the film highlights how circumstances can push people beyond their perceived limits.
“It made me realize that, given a certain circumstances, anybody’s capable of anything,” Berry said. “Because what happens to my character? You wouldn’t think in a million years that would be her story. But in the right circumstance, anything is possible.”
With “Crime 101”, Berry hopes audiences — particularly women — feel seen.
“I think every woman, not just women of a certain age, can see this movie and feel seen and feel heard,” she said.
Know Your Value staff