In her bold and steamy new role in the TV movie, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," Halle Berry plays a woman in the 1920s looking for spiritual and sensual fulfillment.

"The movie is very sensual and sexual," Halle admitted. "So we're probably going to push the limits."

And we can confirm that, after our sneak peek at the racy scenes Halle has in it with her new real-life boyfriend, Michael Ealy.

But there was one other important factor that attracted Halle to the role: Oprah Winfrey was the project's executive producer. And the daytime talk queen told us that right after Halle won the Oscar for "Monster's Ball," she was on the phone making her sales pitch.

Oprah recalled, "I said, 'Gee, that was so great. I was so happy for you, Halle. You won the Oscar, so wonderful, and the dress was so beautiful. Your speech was so nice. Can you play this role for me?"

"I want to do roles that are challenging," Berry insisted. "That means something to me. That sometimes helps educate, like this one. Sometimes, it's just for a good paycheck to build a new house."

Check out Halle and Oprah's labor of love Sunday March 6th on ABC.