Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
When Dustin Hoffman was filming Marathon Man, one of his scenes required him to be out of breath so right before the first take, he ran around the building a few times and was legitimately winded. That’s when legendary actor Laurence Olivier came up to him and said, “You could also try acting, since that’s what you’re paid to do.”
I thought of that story when Halle Berry revealed her injuries from the set of Bruised, a mixed martial arts (MMA) flick that also stars UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Not surprisingly, taking a real kick from “Bullet” can lead to some real damage.
“I broke some stuff on this one,” Berry told Jimmy Fallon (via MMA Fighting). “It’s okay, I always get hurt but I realized that when you go hard, you’re bound to get hurt. When you do your own stunts, you’re bound to get hurt. In this movie, I was fighting the real UFC flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, and you know what? She had to throw some real kicks and I had to really take them and that really broke some bones. She’s a beast but I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher, a better scene mate, a better fight partner.”
Shevchenko (19-3) is undefeated since dropping to flyweight with three finishes and was last seen planishing Katlyn Chookagian at the UFC 247 pay-per-view (PPV) event last February in Houston, Texas, a fight that Berry attended in person.
“Bullet” was expected to make her next 125-pound title defense against Joanne Calderwood in June; however, that contest appears to be on hold for the time being. As for Berry, no word yet on a release date for Bruised.