Charlize Theron. “Women deserve their place under the sun, no less, no more than men.”

“Charlize Theron is not only a great actress, but also a born leader,” praised Uma Thurman after filming. The Old Guard 2 (coming soon to Netflix), which he joined this summer. Coming from the heroine Kill Bill, which Charlize claims she’s seen “hundreds of times,” the compliment sounds like dubbing. An introduction to the pantheon of cult female action figures established by the success of the first installment The old guard Netflix’s summer 2020 blockbuster (more than 76 million households worldwide), as well as a long list of adrenaline-pumping movies, AeonFlow (2005) at: The Fast and the Furious, that the star took the sky of the box office.

The Hollywood career of South Africa’s first Oscar-winning actress (2004 A monster) is exemplary because it reflects the equality revolution that has shaken a historically sexist industry for a decade. Weighted up to 14 kg and became ugly A monstershaved head and amputated arm Mad Max: Fury Road:for a broken tooth and ribs Atomic blondethe goddess with endless legs abuses her charming iconic figure to better reveal her talent and strength.

Born in Benoni, a small town in South Africa under full apartheid, he inherited his surname of Occitan origin, Thero, from Huguenot ancestors who had found refuge in South Africa, and from which the surname derives. Karl, “man”, Old German. The DNA of tempered steel that helped him take life’s hard knocks; the death of her father, killed by Gerta, her mother, in self-defense when Charlize was 15, and her dancing career at 18. stopped after the injury.

Arriving alone in Los Angeles “on her mother’s advice” with $300 in her pocket, Charlize Theron has risen through every stage of the film industry, from horror turnip extra to the top prize, the Oscar, at the age of 29. . Throughout her diverse filmography, she epitomizes feminist dominance in Hollywood. Since since A monster, which allowed her to offer Patty Jenkins her first production, the actress oversees her projects according to her values ​​of inclusion and equality. A staunch advocate for equal pay, she received the same check as her co-star Chris Hemsworth to reprise her role as Queen Ravenna. The Huntsman and the Ice Queen or 10 million dollars.

Head of the Denver & Delilah production house, she is behind more than twenty films and series, often written and/or directed by women. Single since her split from Sean Penn in 2015, this only child who demanded we go to the orphanage to get her baby brother or sister started her own adoptive family. It’s for her daughters Jackson and August that Charlize Theron plays a strict teacher in Netflix’s adaptation of a young adult novel series. School of Good and Evil “for them to finally see me in a movie of their age.”

Brighter and brighter than ever under the lens of Jean-Baptiste Mondino in the latest campaign for Dior’s new fragrance, J’Adore Parfum d’Eau, this intense icon shares her struggle with us.

You have embodied the J’Adore woman by Dior for over eighteen years. The longevity of your relationship is rare and unique. How do you explain that?
To be honest, I didn’t see time passing. And, for the same reasons, I can’t believe my kids are 7 and 10 already. I had just graduated when Dior contacted me A monster. Surprised by the proposal, which came at a funny moment. I became physically unrecognizable on the set of the Patty Jenkins movie. It is such an honor to represent the House of Dior all these years. The key to this longevity, for me, lies in an alchemy made up of listening and mutual respect, but also a shared desire to reinvent the Jador woman. Brash, conquering, independent, leader of the group, sensual and dreamy, as in the latest J’adore Parfum d’Eau campaign, she always evolves with the world around her. This new version is an ode to today’s femininity, close to nature, and the very essence of what I love about perfume: a personal experience every time. In this sense it is as close to fine art as I imagine it to be. The same story, the part of the conscious and the unconscious that it evokes, will resonate differently in each of us. When you wear perfume, you appropriate it.

In the video #DIORSTANDSWITHWOMEN #DIORCHINUP – Charlize Theron x CTAOP

You’re very committed to equality and civil rights in the film industry, you run the Charlize Theron Outreach Project, a foundation that fights AIDS and violence against women in Africa… Why are these struggles so important? you
The lack of equality between people, regardless of their ethnicity, nationality, gender, is, in my opinion, at the root of all the major problems we face today. I have this desire attached to the body to awaken the conscience. Women want and deserve their place in the sun, no less, no more than men.

You broke the Hollywood glass ceiling yourself. since 2015 and Mad Max: Fury Road: you’ve become an essential character in action movies. How did you force yourself into this physically demanding male stronghold?
For me, above all, it’s back to basics. I fell in love with classical dance at the age of 4. I spent my entire childhood and youth on stage. I used to tell stories with my body. To some extent, that’s how I discovered my calling as an actor. My acting has always been very physical, even in feature films or comedies, and so switching to action films didn’t seem as impossible to me as one might think, although it was still unusual for an actress at the time. We don’t see ourselves being offered as many opportunities as our male counterparts, that’s still a fact. Therefore, I try to consider the genre of the film secondary. what matters to me is the script. Playing the heroine of an action movie requires spending hours in the gym and learning a fight choreography. But this discipline does not bother me, on the contrary. She reminds me of my ballet years.

Empress Furiosa, Mother Warrior Mad Max: Fury Road:Lauren, the wild and sensual spyAtomic blondeAndy, the immortal mercenary The old guardStrong and vulnerable at the same time, with an implied dark side… You systematically go for these female characters who shake up the archetypes.
Yes! I also chose them because they all look a bit like me. For ten years we have to welcome the evolution of heroines on screen. Authenticity is finally welcome. Outside of Hollywood, which produces only a limited number of films per year, the emergence of platforms also allows more women, ethnic and sexual minorities to tell their stories. More and more interesting screenwriters and directors believe that this kind of character development makes economic sense; women like to see themselves on screen as they are. When I read a script, I always ask myself: “Is this character believable?” “Whose story are we telling here?” “Who says that?” Men like George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road:) or Jason Reitman (tully) have written me wonderful heroine roles. But there is still a long way to go and so it is everyone’s responsibility to bring out more female voices today.

Since 2003, you have co-produced almost all of your films. You said: “Since my debut, with every project I have to prove to myself what I’m capable of.” On what occasions do you still experience stage fright?
Every time ! For example, when we started filming The Old Guard 2 at the legendary Cinecittà studio in Rome. I didn’t sleep a wink the whole night because all the producers were on the set in the morning. We had to make sure everything was okay. Because that first day of shooting set the stage for the entire production. After months of preparation. Every time it’s exciting, challenging and I have to stay on my toes. I could never get excited about this job.

Are there things you miss when you were young?
What is my body capable of? I could have handled it a little better, admittedly (the actress was a heavy smoker, editor’s note). But I am blessed with the strong nature that I inherited from my mother and that allows me to withstand the physical training that I am subjected to at my age. At 47, I take a certain pride in showing that it is still possible for “women of a certain age” to perform physical feats on screen. While striving to stay healthy as long as possible.

You are raising your two daughters, of South African and African American descent, in troubled America and times. What do you want to convey to them?
I wish Jackson and August understood the value of kindness and compassion. They do not live in a bubble, protected from problems, but participate in the solutions. This is a question of transmission that all parents, I hope, ask themselves, and not just for their children. It is a global problem. And that’s what drove me to start the Charlize Theron Outreach Project in Africa long before I adopted my girls. To leave behind me a permanent structure of action. No one knows where we are going. Let’s at least try to bequeath a viable world to future generations.