Halle Berry Discusses “Emotionally Hard” Dog Scene in Never Let Go

Halle Berry Discusses “Emotionally Hard” Dog Scene in Never Let Go

“We didn’t want to do it.”

Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Never Let Go

Director Alexandre Aja’s latest psychological horror film, Never Let Go, features several shocking moments, none more harrowing than when Halle Berry’s character, a tormented matriarch, informs her two sons, Samuel (Anthony B. Jenkins) and Nolan (Percy Daggs IV), that she must kill the family dog to survive as their food supplies dwindle.

Nolan is understandably heartbroken but manages to save the dog by cutting his mother’s tether, leading to another major twist in the film. During a Q&A session following the screening at Austin’s Fantastic Fest, Aja and Berry discussed the emotional weight of filming this scene after an audience member thanked them for sparing the dog.

“I wouldn’t have been able to work in the U.S. anymore,” Aja joked about the possible fallout. “I would have been deported.”

Berry shared that the dog scene was particularly challenging for the entire cast. “It was hard for all of us,” she admitted. “Let me tell you a secret about Alex: he has a little dog named Peanut. Every day during shooting, he walked around with Peanut in his coat, her little face sticking out. We were all animal lovers, so filming this scene was emotionally difficult.”

She revealed that the scene kept getting delayed because they were all aware of the intense emotions it would evoke. “We didn’t want to do it,” Berry said. Eventually, they had to confront the scene, but when they did, Daggs experienced some difficulty connecting to the moment.

“I think it was because he didn’t want to face the dog situation,” Berry noted. “Whenever actors know they have to cry in a scene, they often end up feeling blocked.” The scene wasn’t coming together, so Berry decided to improvise to help Daggs break through his emotional barrier.

“The true testament to their talent was that when I shook things up, everyone went with it,” she explained. “Percy’s tears began to flow as he connected with his dog. It was one of those rare moments in acting where you capture something real, and that’s how we got the scene. I believe that one take made it into the final film.”

Currently in theaters, Never Let Go features Berry as a troubled mother protecting her two sons in a remote cabin, haunted by an entity she refers to as the Evil. As they venture into the woods, they tether themselves to the cabin for safety. When Nolan starts to question the reality of the Evil, everything is thrown into doubt, leading to a fight for survival.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Berry spoke about the challenges of filming in the woods (with bears nearby!) and the elaborate backstory she crafted for her character. She credited her young co-stars for helping her connect to her role: “A big part of acting is tapping into that childlike part of ourselves to be free and vulnerable,” she said. “I love working with kids because they embody that spirit. I learned a lot from watching them.”

With additional reporting by Tiffany Kelly.

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