Gabrielle Union had a hard time finding more mature roles after her hit film Bring It On left her temporarily typecast. Her persistence paid off, however, and Union started receiving the kinds of sophisticated, age-appropriate roles she desired. The problem was that Union faced a moral dilemma on set. So she asked her more experienced contemporary Halle Berry for advice. Union ended up rejecting the Oscar winner’s feedback, which might’ve been a mistake.
Gabrielle Union didn’t feel Halle Berry’s advice applied to her
Union experienced an unexpected career setback after her breakout hit Bring It On. The 2000 comedy film amplified the trend of her portraying teenagers in high school settings. This lane offered Union a lot of success, but it also significantly stagnated her career. Fortunately for the L.A’.s Finest star, she knew someone well-connected who recognized her potential for older roles.
“Gary Hardwood who did the rewrites on Bring It On finally gave me a chance on the film The Brothers. We hung out a little and he got a chance to know the really Gabrielle. He actually gave me the opportunity when no one wanted to see me,” she once said according to Black Film.
Incidentally, this led to Union doing other more mature films like Bad Boys II and Cradle 2 the Grave. It came at a cost, however. She considered the characters she played in those movies a bit too sexualized, especially in Cradle 2 the Grave.
“As I moved out of those teen roles into more mature roles like Bad Boys, I was in a bikini. And in Cradle 2 the Grave, I had a lap dance scene and I was terrified,” Union said in an interview with Zon D’ Amour.
It didn’t help that the lap dance scene wasn’t a part of the action-thriller when she first signed on. Production later added it into the script without notice, leaving Union at a crossroads. After hearing about Union’s situation, Berry, who’s also done some uncomfortable scenes in her career, tried to offer her perspective on the situation.
“I was so scared that Halle Berry sent me a note through our mutual friend that basically said, ‘Nothing is worth your peace of mind and if you’re that uncomfortable with the scene, don’t do it and don’t believe anyone that says your career will be over if you choose not to do it,’” Union recalled.
But Union, though appreciative, didn’t think that the advice was for her. “In my mind I was like, ‘Of course she can say that. She’s Halle Berry,’” she said.
Rejecting Halle Berry’s advice led to a humiliating experience for Gabrielle Union
In the end, Union decided to do the lap dance scene in the DMX and Jet Li thriller. But it might’ve done more harm than good for her career. Although she regretted certain things about her Bring It On role, she felt her character was much better than the roles she was offered afterward. The aftermath of the lap dance also became problematic given the real-life trauma Union had to deal with in the past.
“Eventually, I did the scene and afterward, it changed how I was received in Hollywood. After I was in Bring It On, there was a certain level of respect people had for me. It was like, ‘Yes! You fought against cultural appropriation, you held people responsible and were a leader!’ Then after Cradle 2 the Grave, people were pausing the lap dance scene to take screenshots of my body, and as a sexual assault survivor, it was mortifying. I felt so naked, vulnerable, and like a target,” she said.
As she got older, however, Union found herself attracting the kinds of roles that were both memorable and dignified. Being Mary Jane, where Union plays an accomplished news anchor with relationship issues, was right up the actor’s alley.
“Strangely enough, after my first divorce, feeling like I failed publicly, no one is ever going to love me and I’m never going to be seen as desirable again, I get Being Mary Jane. And she’s this very sexually free woman at that time in my life. Being 40, it felt very free to feel wanted even if it was for pretend. To play a character that was so desirable, confident, and in control of her sexuality and sexual experience was amazing,” she said.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
