I’m covering this story because I want to talk about Extant. I am really enjoying that show, and it is a welcome addition to the dearth of summer programming. (Although I’m also watching True Blood and Ray Donovan and need to catch up on Masters of Sex. I wish Showtime would promote Ray Donovan as much as they’re hyping Sex, it’s an excellent show.)
Anyway, Star Magazine claims that the new show’s star, Halle Berry, is hard to read on set. She’s sometimes unapproachable, sometimes friendly to crew, and they’re unsure of how to act around her. Star’s source says “everyone is on edge.”
Halle Berry may have switched over to television, but she still expects more star treatment! Sources on the set of her new series, Extant, in which she plays an astronaut who returns to Earth pregnant after a year alone in pace, say Halle is making everyone miserable. “The crew was warned not to look Halle in the eye or talk to her except through her assistants, but they’re never around,” says a set insider. “And she plays weird mind games, like throwing a fit over water being the wrong temperature, then, 10 minutes later, offering to buy the crew lunch. Everyone is on edge!”
[From Star Magazine, print edition, July 28, 2014]
I don’t doubt that Halle is a diva in some respects, but assuming this is all true I want to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she had a diva moment with the water, realized how ridiculous she was being and then tried to make it right by treating everyone to lunch. It’s also possible that the instructions about not looking her in the eye and not talking to her came from someone higher up and not Halle.
I’m making excuses because Halle is excellent on Extant. She gives a nice nuanced performance where you can see that she’s tortured but that her character, an astronaut, is trained to reign it in. The supporting actors, particularly Goran Visnjic and Camryn Manheim, are very good too.
Spoilers for past episodes of Extant follow
I have some questions about the plot. In the opening episode I assumed that the Yasumoto corp colluded with the ISEA to impregnate Halle’s character, Molly. This week they seemed to suggest that extraterrestrials had done it and that they were merely aware of it. Also, last week it looked like child robot Ethan was going to turn into some kind of Omen humanoid, but now he seems much more “normal” now.
I like that they’re keeping us guessing with a well-crafted mystery. Plus Extant is doing very well in the ratings. If Halle wants her water a certain temperature, give it to her. Her star power is definitely contributing to the high ratings and her acting elevates that show.
Photos courtesy of CBS and Getty Images
I’ve been in love with Goran since I saw him on ER as a kid! Love that handsome man.
Me, too. He is so handsome.
My mum has been in love with him ever since she saw him play Hamlet. He was the youngest actor ever to play Hamlet in Croatia.
I don’t know, she always came across as a bit of a diva… So not surprised if that was true. I like her anyway…. Just sorry we won’t be able to watch Extant here, unless you have Amazon…
During the press tour for X-men McAvoy mentioned that someone of the old cast took themselves way too seriously. By the process of elimination I came to the conclusion it had to be her. 🙂 So yeah, definitely a diva but like someone else noted, these stories sound a bit like some old gossip rehashed too. So 50-50 maybe?
He was answering a fan question over who in the cast was most fun and who most serious.
I doubt its Halle he meant. She wasnt on that set with McAvoy long enough for it to be her. Besides McAvoys idea of laid back is extreme by most peoples standards not least a 45 year old woman. I think even he would know that. Even Hugh Jackman heavily implies that he wasnt part of the sillyness and whatever. That he stayed mostly in his trailer singing. Incidentally, Hugh seems very uncomfortable in that whole interview but especially at that,bit with McAvoy and Fassbender consulting over him over who they dont like.
Maybe her assistant was Malia Obama whom no one was allowed to talk to either and then the Secret Service whisked her away because someone had taken a photograph of her that needed to be expunged from the universe, which is why no one could find Malia to tell Halle that her water wasn’t ready and still needed to warm in the perfect temperature of the late afternoon sun (that doesn’t rise above 117 degrees Fahrenheit) for an additional seventeen minutes more in order for the water to still be classified as “raw” and not baked.
Calling all QQ’s! I thought that was you in the header pic. 😀
Bwahahahah I cant stand You Mimif But My hair is very currently that minus the shaved part, No!!??
Im saving all my Extant watching for sunday actually!
If she were wearing hot fuschia lipstick and slightly less insane, you would be twinsies! 😉
I wanted to not like this show BUT I am hooked. Surprisingly I like Berry in the role.
I am not sure how one would gauge water temp. I am pretty easy. Cold water to drink. Hot water to bathe. Tepid water to swim.
Spoiler, sort of:
I suspect that everyone but the robot child and maaaaaaaybe the red headed astronaut are conspiring against Molly, including her husband and doctor friend. Her husband seems totally sketchy and I think he and his co-worker have a little sumthin’ sumthin’ going on.
I dont care tbh. I’m just so glad the show has great ratings. More proof that WoC can successfully carry a show. This opens the door for others. Yay! Plus its a great show on Network TV.
Yep! Like Scandal and Sleepy Hollow, it’s doing great in the ratings! I’m glad black actresses are being given a chance. It shows people care about a having a great story/entertainment above all.
I really love Halle. She is beautiful and it’s incredible that she’s 47! Loved her in the X-Men movies as Storm, so I chuckle a bit that Storm is now on TV (how awesome would it be if her character suddenly started levitating and summoning wind/thunder? Haha.. I know I’m a nerd..).
Goran Visnijc is in this??? I may have to tune in now. But it seems like every time I get excited about seeing him in a show, it immediately gets cancelled.
What is the deal celebrities have about people on set not making eye contact. Like? I can imagine wanting people to deal with assistants on many things, but they can’t even LOOK at you?
It takes them out of the scene. Imagine concentrating on getting your cadence and accent just right, only to have someone walk up to you and ask you a question. Its kinda like counting with someone listing random numbers in the background. It throws you off. Most actors/musical performers/stand ups, hate when that happens. So much so, its sometimes written into their contracts.
While I do believe she is somewhat of a diva I’m not buying this entirely. The whole don’t look her in the eye thing was said years ago and she joked about it. It’s like they’re rehatching and recycling old gossip.
Agreed – I don’t doubt she’s difficult to work with at times, but this sounds like the usual Star nonsense.
I hadn’t planned on watching this show, but it actually sounds pretty good. Maybe I’ll check it out on demand.
I am surprised how much I am enjoying this show…that lil boy had me scared last week.
I think the crazy will come back with him though but now he seems to be sympathetic and caring.
This is a very good show if you haven’t been watching. I do believe that she can be a diva but I’ve heard the same about people who are far less talented then she is. It is a different concept and is really interesting. Give it a shot. That’s all I got!
I’m not a fan of Halle’s brand of crazy, but I’m not buying this story in the first place. She doesn’t have a rep as being difficult on set to begin with. That one story about not looking her in the eye was debunked years ago. Also, GossipCop is now saying it’s BS and they’ve learned she doesn’t have assistants around at all. If she were that difficult, more would’ve leaked out by now. It’s close to impossible to keep this kind of thing quiet, particularly on a show with such star power (no pun intended).
I didn’t believe these tales, either, and I’m not a huge Halle fan. I do like the show, though, and because it’s somewhat dark and suspenseful like a few of the movies she’s starred in, it’s the right one for her to transition from big screen to TV.
@Izzy,
Would you be so kind as to give a rundown of her ‘brand of crazy’? I hear people speak of it, but they never go into detail. One guy basically had a problem with ALL black women that he projected on Halle. Oh and please don’t trash her for the men she falls in love with. We have all been down that road and we’re not ripe for the loony bin. I want to read about actual bat crap crazy stuff. Thanks.
Love this show! Although sometimes I feel like my son is the robot kid. Sometimes sweet and other times I’m scared of him 😳
Halle is crazy. Guaranteed. She’s one of those chicks. Hot but nutso.
Don’t know about her flipping over water temp. but I can see her being manic as all hell. Oh, Goran looks extra-double hot, too. They will start banging in real life, and then there will be a Halle Brawl.
@QQ what is it like to be so gorgeous?
I’ve watched one episode so far and didn’t think it was that great. I’ll give it one more episode. As for Halle, I can completely believe she leaves people on edge not knowing how she will react to something. I also honestly believe she is mentally ill like my mother. Her pattern of behavior is way to similar. She doesn’t have to be a diva to be difficult to read and work with at times. I also believe she is probably at her best when she is working and probably dials it down a bit on set but it still leaks through. Disclaimer: I know I don’t know her and I’m not a professional but I am intimately familiar with one particular mental illness and I recognize it when others don’t.
I also think she’s mentally unstable, based on years of her nutso behavior. I don’t think she’s a great actress. I watched the first episode & despite the yummy Croat eye-candy, didn’t find the show compelling enough to be worth seeing the 2nd episode.
@taxi,
“based on years of her nutso behavior.”
Please elaborate. Thanks.
She’s batshite crazy. Good on tv though.
Yes I think she is playing mind games just like she does in her personal life.
I love this show ! Goran is so handsome 🙂
Halle I love you 💗
The first thing I thought reading this was it sounds like everybody else on set is watching her like a hawk. Of course there’s mixed signals when you’re watching everything someone does. It sounds like the whole crew is waiting and analyzing so they can decide if she’s nice or a diva. “Oh my god, she complained and then did something nice?! We’re SO WORRIED. ” ugh, it must suck to have your every move analyzed by your coworkers like that.
This.
Her private life is a mess but I don’t get the feeling that she is a diva on the set. That’s just my feeling. She will always have problems with men and her baby daddies, but she has always appeared to be professional when it comes to her work. Also, everyone has an off day and I think someone with star power gets to be moody once in a while as long as 90% of the time she is cordial with the crew. It’s very nice if she in fact has treated the crew to lunch.
To be fair, they pull this out pretty much every time there’s a WoC lead. They say similar stuff about Nicole Beharie on Sleepy Hollow, they said similar stuff about Jessica Alba when she was doing Dark Angel.
It’s like how if you have more than two white women in your cast, two of them invariably can’t stand each other and sparring to get the other fired, according to the rags.
I think given her personal life, people are literally waiting to call crazy on something. Never mind that the character she’s playing is likely in a delicate state of mind and, I dunno, running hot and cold. She’s probably method and this story is ridiculous considering. Eh.
Glad her show is doing well though. Between Halle, Goran, and Pierce Gagnon, I like the cast and hope they avoid the usual kind of tropes you get in such shows.
This.
is extant/cbs an advertiser for this website? why you give halle the benefit of the doubt and not others I don’t understand
The redhead is Meryl Streep’s daughter.
That show sounds right up my alley but I always forget it’s on. I’ve got nothing more to add except she’s so damn beautiful. Her eyes are luminous and her skin looks flawless in that second pic.
I’m watching this show for Hiroyuki Sanada – fantastic actor!
I almost can’t believe that I’m admitting this because I am no fan of the real Halle whose crazy life & antics have played out all over the media, but I have been LOVING this show!! The special effects are wonderful (I like how it’s clearly set sometime in the future but they show you in subtle ways like her outdoor metal trash cab compacter/disposal shute and the elephant that came to holographic life in the natural history museum 😊) and Berry’s and the child actor’s performances have been wonderful 🙂 I’m sold.
Extant is my new favorite summer show and I really hope it’s able to stay on air. It’s also nice to have Camryn Manheim back on my screen; I loved her on Ghost Whisperer.
Doesn’t matter much to me. I’ve never thought she was much of an actress anyway — seems totally overrated in my estimation.
Umm….Halle Berry has not shown any public nutty behavior. Accusations and rumors are just that. The truth will sting, but the reason why others want to believe that Halle is crazy is because she is a very successful, actress and a woman of color, and a lot of mainstream does not like that, so they want to make up and believe negative press about her. Simple as that. I, personally enjoy Berry as an actress. She is very talented and was amazing in ‘Losing Isiah’. There certainly is merit as to why she is an Academy Award winning actress. Halle is an amazing actress, mother, and person of dignity. The shade stops here.