Halle Berry Actually Didn’t Skin A Real Squirrel In ‘Never Let Go’ Thriller, PETA Confirms
Headlines began swirling after Halle Berry revealed that she skinned a squirrel to prepare for her role in the upcoming Never Let Go thriller. Now, PETA has clarified that the coveted actress did not harm any animals, but instead skinned realistic props.
PETA’s Director of Animals in Film and Television, Lauren Thomasson, issued a statement to VIBE saying, “While moviegoers may squirm in their seats at the sight of a squirrel being skinned, Alexander Aja’s use of movie magic, instead of a thinking, feeling being in Never Let Go, once again proves that technology is the key to modern, humane movie production.”
She continued, “PETA is happily rushing delicious squirrel-shaped vegan chocolates to Aja and Halle Berry to applaud this responsible choice, and we urge other filmmakers to commit to making their productions positive for animals by using only props, computer-generated imagery, and other special effects.”
Earlier this month, the 57-year-old spoke of her role at Lionsgate’s CinemaCon panel in which she plays a mother of two sons (Percy Daggs IV and Anthony B. Jenkins), who “has never gone beyond their forested environs, and whenever they leave the cabin, they are bounded by rope as they venture into the scary woods.”
To get into character, Berry shared that she learned how to skin a squirrel, without offering the proper context at the time.
“There was no electricity… no lights,” she recalled. “And they’re eating bugs and frogs — raw frogs — in the woods. It was a challenge. I had to really skin a squirrel. These things wildly challenged me to create some reality within this world that felt so foreign.” She added, “This gave me an opportunity to be a part of a world I had never seen before.”
The Alexandre Aja-directed film, which lands in theaters Sept. 27., is a psychological thriller that “centers on a family of three haunted by an evil entity. Whenever they leave the safety of their cabin to venture into the woods, they are bound by rope to the home. The family’s safety and surroundings come into question when one of the boys asks if the evil is real.”
Berry noted that her role “reminded me how I would protect my children with my life. What would you do to protect your children? This role gave me a chance to really take that to the limit.”
A trailer for Never Let Go has yet to arrive.
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