Meet the British actress, 30, who romances Halle Berry in the Oscar winner’s directorial debut.
If Sheila Atim were a gambler, she probably wouldn’t have bet on gettingBruised.
She thought she blew it.
Sheila Atim in ‘Bruised’.JOHN BAER/NETFLIX
For Atim, whose background is in British theater, it would also be her first on-screen sex scene.
That’s not too shabby.
SHEILA ATIM:[Laughs] It’s very cool and almost seems a bit not real.
Halle Berry as Jackie Justice and Sheila Atim as Bobbi ‘Buddhakan’ Berroa in ‘Bruised’.JOHN BAER/NETFLIX
I actually had my call with Halle the day I was flying home from Georgia shootingUnderground Railroad.
And that’s where you sent in yourBruisedaudition from?
I was like, “Oh my gosh, what am I doing?
I’m never going to get this job anyway, this is ridiculous.”
So it seemed very dreamlike because it was completely out of the blue.
Were you an MMA or UFC girl at all before this?
Had you ever been to a to a fight like the ones depicted in the movie?
I had watched a couple of compilation clips on YouTube, you know?
I had dabbled in a bit of martial arts before like,veryloosely.
Then the relationship really opens up and it ends up becoming a love story.
How did she guide you through that, and the romantic scenes you had together?
Which I’d never heard before and it was really lovely because I think it was absolutely that.
Aside from whatever else anyone takes from it, it really is just two people connecting above anything else.
And I think both of them in this story are searching for that.
They’re both looking for connection in some way or another.
And the world of MMA gives that to them in some sense, but it can’t be everything.
You see her relationships with other people in the story and it’s quite turbulent.
It’s not got the same quality as it does between Jackie and Buddhakan.
Did they adjust to allow you to be British and use your natural accent?
It was written as an American, but it wasn’t too much of a leap.
There were things that they gave me complete license to do.
So, you know, we were wondering, would you be able to do a Cockney accent?"
Essex and East London.
So I was like, “Denise, don’t worry about it.
I’ll be fine, I’ve got this one.
That’s what you want?
You’re going to get a Cockney!”
What was so great about Halle is that she found a way to utilize it.
I really vividly remember one lady who was driving a school bus with a load of kids in it.
And I was like, This is great!
Those kids are going to be late to school, but it’s fine.
[Laughs]
So what’s next for you, project-wise?
I don’t know how much I can or can’t say about them.
There will be something!
Are you prepared for that?
It’s a big deal!
I mean, yeah, I’m very aware.
The main thing that I’ve really bracing myself for is all of my friends.
A version of this story appears inEntertainment Weekly’s September issue,available here.
