Whether Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road or the last Fast and Furious films: Oscar winner Charlize Theron has built a second base as an action heroine that the Meryl Streeps of this world can only dream of.
As she gets older, the South African also faces physical challenges that she didn’t have 20 years ago, when she transformed herself for films like Monster.
Charlize Theron: ‘I wish I had my body from 25 years ago’
Theron spoke at length with Allure magazine (via Sensacine) in August 2023 and left the world with a few memorable quotes, including: “People think I’ve had a facelift. They ask, ‘What did she do to her face? I say, ‘Bitch, I just aged!'”
The then 48-year-old spoke about the preparation that film roles now demand of her. She gained 13 kilos for her Oscar role in Monster and then had no problems losing the weight. Things haven’t been so easy since she was in her 40s. This also applies to roles that require intensive physical effort:
More than my face I wish I had my body from 25 years agowhich I can just throw against the wall without it hurting tomorrow.
Theron regularly makes action films, has her own franchise with The Old Guard and is part of the regular cast of Fast and Furious as hacker Cipher. In the most recent part Fast X, for example, she fought with Michelle Rodriguez in a sequence. Even the preparation is a challenge for the actress:
Now if I don’t exercise for three days and go back to the gym, I won’t be able to run. I can’t sit on the toilet.
What does Charlize Theron do next?
Charlize Theron most recently appeared in The School for Good and Evil on Netflix and in the 10th Fast and Furious film in 2023. She also had a cameo at the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Next should be the Action sequel The Old Guard 2 on Netflix start in which Theron once again plays the ancient superhero Andromache of Scythia, who ensures law and order in the present with her team of ancient warriors.
The action sequel Atomic Blonde 2 is in development and she also has a role in the upcoming Christopher Nolan film The Odyssey. So Charlize Theron still has to work hard in the gym.
This article was first published in a similar form on Moviepilot in August 2023.