AceShowbiz - Actor Adan Canto can't wait for film fans to see Halle Berry's directorial debut, because he insists it's a career-defining effort for the Oscar winner.

Canto portrays the boyfriend of Halle's character in new mixed martial arts movie "Bruised" and he reveals his co-star took a pounding on set to get the story across.

"It was really cool to do a film with Halle," he tells WENN. "She's an actor's director and being on set with her was awesome. It was like being a kid again."

"I was already immersed in the world of my character, which is very different than who I really am. I had a different accent and I gained, like, 35 pounds, mostly in my gut and in my face... I play a very troubled, injured boxer who is struggling to find meaning in life. After an injury he's left with nothing, but he has his girlfriend, who is also a great fighter."

"It's a very timely film. If you go back with the character you visit the hardships of inner cities and fatherless boys that you can't even imagine. I literally got bruised a little bit, but not as much as Halle. I told her I've always loved her work but I had not seen her do anything close to what she did in this film. It's really, really great. I'm excited for people to see it."

In "Bruised", Halle plays a washed-up MMA fighter, Jackie Justice". She wants to make her young son Manny proud, but first, she needs to defeat her own inner demons and face one of the most intense rising stars of the MMA world.

The movie was reportedly bought by Neflix in a "eight-figure sum" deal. Expressing her excitement of the pick-up, Halle wrote on Twitter in September, "I am speechless. Thank you @netflix for believing in my vision, cannot wait for y’all to finally see #BruisedTheMovie."