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Halle Berry has revealed that James Bond star Pierce Brosnan “restored” her faith in men on the set of Die Another Day.
Berry, now 58, starred as Giacinta “Jinx” Johnson in the 2002 film and was married to singer Eric Benét at the time. Benét and Berry divorced in 2005, after rumours emerged that he had been unfaithful.
Benét was Berry’s second husband, after her first marriage to David Justice from 1993 to 1997. In 2004, the star revealed that she had experienced domestic violence in the past, which led to permanent hearing loss in one year. In 2015, Berry confirmed that the perpetrator was not Justice, but another boyfriend.
Speaking to Wired, the Oscar-winning star shared how Brosnan, who played her love interest in the movie, helped her believe in men again after her experiences.
“He will always be my Bond, always,” she said. “I’m a Pierce Brosnan fan. He restored my faith in men on that movie. There couldn’t be a human who is more of a gentleman than Pierce Brosnan.”
Speaking about her experience of being a Bond girl, she explained that it had never been a career aspiration.
“Bond wasn’t on my wish list, no, to be in one, but I loved the movies, always, but having been in one, I feel like I’m a part of cinematic history,” she said.
“Those movies are iconic. They will forever be a part of our history, and I’m really honoured to have been a part of one, especially with Pierce.”
The pair worked together on the film, which marked Brosnan’s final appearance as 007. Appearing on Jimmy Fallon’s US talk show in 2020, Berry recalled an embarrassing incident on the set during a steamy sex scene that went awry.
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“One time I was doing a scene with Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day,” she said. “I was supposed to be all sexy and trying to seduce him with a fig, and then I ended up choking on it.
“He had to get up and do the Heimlich [manoeuvre]. It was so not sexy, like so not sexy!”
Benét and Berry met in 1997 at an LA concert, and while the star said she didn’t feel any sparks with the R&B musician at the time, the two began an email exchange that eventually led to their marriage in 2001.
She went on to date Canadian model Gabriel Aubry from 2005 to 2010, with the couple sharing a 16-year-old daughter together. After meeting on the set of Dark Tide in 2010, Berry married French actor Olivier Martinez in 2013, before splitting in 2015. They share a 10-year-old son together.
