Halle Berry reflects on negative backlash to her ‘Catwoman’ suit (exclusive)

Before Halle Berry’s Catwoman slinked into theaters 20 years ago, a photo of her top-secret catsuit leaked from the set. Two decades later, the film’s cast and crew tell Entertainment Weekly that initial fan reaction to the unofficial image might’ve stolen all nine of the film’s lives before it even hit theaters.

A far cry — okay, meow — from traditional interpretations of the DC Comics character’s famed single-piece catsuit, Berry’s iteration of the superhero costume was an experiment in progression for the genre. Made as a collaboration between Berry, producers, costume designer Angus Strathie, and, as producer Denise Di Novi tells EW, Oscar-winning costumer Colleen Atwood, the star’s leather ensemble was unlike anything Catwoman had ever worn on screen or paper in the past — and fans weren’t having it.

“That was the first thing that started the negativity. It was an early shot before we’d perfected it. It was so different than what people were used to in the other movie. A catsuit, by definition, everything is covered up. We thought it’d be cool to be more rock & roll and bare,” Di Novi explains of the outfit, which consisted of scratched-up leather pants, a studded harness, a sleek black bikini top, and a pointy-eared face mask. “Halle was famous for wearing a bikini in her Bond movie, and we were like, why not? People had such a reaction to it, which is so ridiculous. We had the famous Colleen Atwood helping us with just that costume. Halle had a lot of input. I still think it’s cool and a lot more modern!”

Berry says she felt the negativity, too. But, she maintains that the whole idea was in line with a sentiment that ran consistently throughout many involved with the production.

“Fans were upset about the suit. It was something different, but in our minds, why keep remaking Catwoman if you’re not going to take risks and bring something different to it? The beauty was that it was better suited for my version of her, my body, who I was, and my sensibilities,” the 57-year-old recalls.

Berry also confirms that she never contacted past Catwomen like Eartha Kitt or Julie Newmar for the same reason: so her interpretation of the character would be totally her own.

“The studio was a big part of that; the idea was to not do what’s been done over and over but to bring something different,” she recalls. That included, Berry says, not setting the film in the Batman universe (which was a studio mandate writer John Brancato claims) — despite Catwoman’s legacy being largely intertwined with Batman’s.

“The beauty of doing it was because it wasn’t in the Batman universe. Men, historically, get to have big franchises that revolve around them,” says Berry. “This was an opportunity to be forward-thinking, pushing that envelope for women. Why can’t we have our own superhero movie that revolves around us and our universe?”

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Before it found a new, cult audience in the streaming era, Catwoman performed poorly with critics and at the 2004 box office, grossing just under $83 million globally on a reported $100 million budget. The film also won Razzies for Worst Picture and Worst Actress, with Berry showing up to accept her prize.

Despite her good humor about the situation, Berry is still proud of the film, and says she had a blast making it.

“The studio knew what I was going to do at the Razzies. I told them I wanted to take the piss out of it and laugh at it. I don’t think it’s a God-awful film,” she explains. “I wrote [that speech] within an inch of my life. I put a lot of thought into how I could do it in a fun way and let everyone know I didn’t take it that seriously. You can never take away my Oscar, no matter how bad you bash me! If you say I earned it, I’ll take this, too.”

Read EW’s full oral history of Catwoman with Berry, director Pitof, producer Di Novi, and screenwriter Brancato