Berry returns home to Cleveland area

U.S. actress Halle Berry talks during a television show at the MuchMusic television station to promote her new movie 'Perfect Stranger' in Toronto, March 21, 2007. [Reuters]

Even in the rain, Halle Berry draws a crowd when she returns home to the Cleveland area. About 800 people waited in drizzle Thursday night in this Ohio suburb to catch a glimpse of the Oscar-winning actress before a screening of her new film, "Perfect Stranger."

Onlookers snapped photos with cameras and cell phones as Berry made her way from a sport utility vehicle to the movie theater. She signed autographs, talked to fans and conducted interviews with local media.

"I'm so happy to be home," she told the packed theater before the film started.

"I swear this is true. No matter how many countries I've been to, no matter how many warm receptions I've gotten, my heart was beating when I pulled up. Nothing feels better. The voices all sound familiar in some weird way. I'm of here. I'm from here. And I'm one of you."

Berry, 40, grew up in the Cleveland area and graduated from high school in suburban Bedford in 1984. She won the best-actress Oscar in 2002 for "Monster's Ball."

Guests at the screening included Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson — who called Berry "homegrown and beautiful" when he introduced her — and Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards.

"I'm a big fan of Halle Berry's," Edwards said. "I think every man in America is."

"Perfect Stranger," which also stars Bruce Willis and Giovanni Ribisi, opens in theaters April 13.