Halle Berry makes her directorial debut in Bruised, a new film telling the story of how a disgraced former mixed martial arts fighter and single mother stages a comeback. She also plays the lead role of the film, in character Jackie Justice.
As part of process to understand the role, Berry spoke with a number of MMA fighters and spent months training various gyms. In the film, Justice's rival Lady Killer is played by UFC fighter Valentina Shevchenko, with whom Berry prepared for two years in preparation for the film.
Of her scars while making the film, she told Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim that on the second day of shooting she got "kicked and broke two ribs.