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CINDY PEARLMAN
NYT Syndicate
Charlize Theron doesn't mind going over the top. In fact, she relishes it. For example, in her new spy thriller Atomic Blonde, she kills someone by impaling him on one of her high heels.
"I'm someone who really wants to push the envelope," the 41-year-old actress said.
Theron also served as the producer of Atomic Blonde, which will open on July 28. She plays Lorraine Broughton, an undercover British agent who, during the Cold War, is sent to Berlin to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.
"My company developed this," Theron said,"so I knew from the beginning this was something I needed to do. This felt like there was something really great there."
She encountered the Antony Johnston/Sam Hart graphic novel on which the film is based five years ago, and was immediately captivated.
"I was looking to do an action film, and this offered a kick-ass female character," she said."I just fell in love with it. At the same time, I had no idea if I could play her or if I would get the chance."
She and her producing partner, Beth Kono, acquired the rights and spent the next four years trying to get it made. Then one day Theron's telephone rang.
"I was on the way to Budapest," Theron recalled."It was Beth saying that Atomic Blonde was actually going to happen. Finally it just all came together."
Among the elements coming together was a cast that included James McAvoy as David Percival, another British agent who may or may not be what he appears to be, and John Goodman as a duplicitous CIA agent.
Theron went back to the gym to prepare for the part ” nothing new to her after the rigorous physical training she underwent to play Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
"I had eight amazing fight trainers who basically made me puke every single day," she said with a laugh."I am very grateful to them, because I've watched this film with audiences and it's really special to me to see an audience really connect with this character. You needed the physicality to make that happen."
That included her share of painful moments, of course.
"Yes, that was my face bouncing off the wall," Theron said."You're welcome. I'm a pro."
That she is.
"Women can kick ass in a movie," Theron said,"but, like men, it takes a lot of work. I worked with our fight choreographer, Jon Valera, and at first it was so hard. I said, 'Are you kidding me?' One day I called Beth and said, 'This is never going to work.'
"I was doing moves where I looked like Big Bird," she continued."That was because they were teaching me fight stands for about two weeks. I was literally like, 'I'm standing here cupping my chest and I don't know what I'm doing.'
"It made me stronger," Theron concluded."The training was also about the consistency of going every single day to the gym. We recorded me training and, in the two-and-a-half months, the progression was amazing. Things I never thought I'd be able to do became easy."
Such as?
"For example, I learned to throw my entire body on the floor and land on my back," she said."I did that while throwing these really big dudes around. At first I said to (director David Leitch), 'We're going to pretend I'm throwing the guys around.' David was like, 'No, you're really going to throw some really big dudes.'
"I said, 'OK, let's throw some dudes.'"
Theron wasn't the only A-list star working with Valera's team during those months. Keanu Reeves also was on hand, training for John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017).
"We even sparred with each other," she recalled."We'd scream, 'I'm going to take you down!' It was all very macho and fun."
Because she was producing the film, Theron was able to include some of her own tastes ” notably the music of the late David Bowie.
"Percival asks Lorraine, 'How do you sleep at night with all this (bad craziness) going on?," she said."My response was, 'I listen to David Bowie.'
"He was an inspiration of mine in life," Theron went on."We lost him while we were making this film. We have his songs ” Under Pressure (1981) and Cat People (1982) ” in the film because I really wanted to celebrate him."
A native of South Africa who grew up on a farm, Theron studied ballet and dance as a child and teenager. Dance took her to Europe and the United States, where she danced with the prestigious Joffrey Ballet until a knee injury ended her career.
She decided to give acting a try, and her mother gave her a one-way ticket to Los Angeles. There she got her first break at a local bank, where she was trying to cash a check. When the bank wouldn't cash her mother's out-of-town check, Theron made a scene ... and an agent who was waiting in line was impressed and passed her his card.
Theron made her screen debut in 2 Days in the Valley (1996), and went on to steadily bigger roles in such films as The Cider House Rules (1999), The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), The Italian Job (2003), North Country (2005), Hancock (2008), The Road (2009), Young Adult (2011), Prometheus (2012), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) and The Fate of the Furious (2017). Her performance as real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003) earned her an Oscar as Best Actress.
Next up for her is Jason Reitman's Tully, a comedy about motherhood written by Diablo Cody.
There's also been steady talk of a sequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, perhaps even a spinoff starring Theron's character, Imperator Furiosa.
"It's a constant conversation, but nothing more than that," she said."I wouldn't go by me."
Theron certainly wouldn't mind a shot at another action film, though.
"I love storytelling that uses a lot of the physical," she said."Good action really delivers and fascinates me because, if you do it right, it's powerful. You can actually tell a story through movement."
She's paid the price, of course. Theron cracked a few teeth while shooting a 12-minute action scene for Atomic Blonde.
"I cracked two teeth clenching while fighting," the actress recalled."I dealt with it for a long time. I had to undergo surgery after Atomic Blonde. It was really crazy."
She sighed.
"No teeth, making a movie. Thank you," she joked."But it was worth it."
Her children, 5-year-old Jackson and 2-year-old August, seem to take her unusual line of work in stride.
"My oldest was on the set of Mad Max," Theron said."Someone asked him, 'What does your mom do for a living?' He said, 'She does Halloween.' I had blood on my face and said, 'That's right, I'm playing Halloween today.'
"They've seen me do the wildest things."
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26/07/2017
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