“I like
conflicted women”
SheKnows: Charlize, you tend to go toward the darker roles, the very character-driven roles. Do you want to lighten up any time soon? Is there a romantic comedy in your future?
Charlize Theron: I don’t really think of them as dark roles. Obviously, I like conflicted women because I feel like we get so little of that. I guess I like picking people up at
kind of a crossroads. You find my characters at a place where they could make a choice that could work out okay for them or it’s really gonna be not good. But, sure. My God, I think every director
that works with me always comments on the fact that it is quite ironic that I haven’t done comedy because there is zero drama about me. I think the sense of humor is a very personal thing and I
don’t know if I am talented enough to do romantic comedies.
SheKnows: Really?
Charlize Theron: I don’t think I could do them the justice that a lot of other really great actresses who ‘get’ that genre (could do). I don’t know if my comedic skills and timing
would be good for that. But I do know that I love what the Coen Brothers do. I love that kind of character wit; what Gus Van Sant does with comedy, that kind of character-driven (stuff). But, yeah,
I would love to do something like that. Spread the word.
SheKnows: A serious question now. Sylvia, both teen version and grown-up, has moments where she is cutting (self-mutilating) or putting her hand into fire. Cutting, unfortunately,
is a behavior that many young women take up. Did you research this or have a comment on it?
Charlize Theron: Yeah, I have a real fascination with addiction and I think addiction is coping. So I think the kind of survival mechanisms that we use as humans to cope and
survive boils down to some of the ugly things we don’t necessarily want to look at, which is self-mutilation or addiction. I think that’s probably what I could have done with my life if
I wasn’t an actor because that kind of human observation is something that fascinates me. Just something that has to do with the study of coping with those kind of addictions So, I’ve
read a lot of books on it and I’ve spent a lot of time wanting to understand that more.
How close to home?
SheKnows: You don’t have personal experience with it?
Charlize Theron: I’ve never been a cutter or ever been addicted to anything, but I’ve met people and I’ve been around it. I grew up in a house with addiction and
I think that grief and pain and survival, just being somebody who’s alive and having to cope with guilt, really comes from wanting to numb and I think that’s what self-mutilating is and
that’s also what sex addiction is. I’ve personally met a lot of parents actually who’ve lost children and sex addiction becomes very prevalent and they tend to split up. They tend
to actually break up because one would actually cheat on the other one. But, that’s really not about the sex. When we have sex, we chemically change. I mean, things actually happen to our
body and to our brain that chemically changes us, and so it is like shooting heroin or having a drink. It’s a chemical reaction and cutting is the same thing. The endorphins that actually hit
your brain from feeling pain change you. And so, it’s a need, I think, at the end of the day, the common need is to not feel, just to have one moment of not feeling.
SheKnows: You’ve now successfully segued into the role of executive producer on a couple of films. How is that working for you? Have you decided what you like and don’t like
about it?
Charlize Theron: You know, I think at the end of the day I don’t really compartmentalize the job too much. From the first day I walked onto a set, there has always been a
fascination that I’ve had with making a film and I think that’s just kind of grown and I feel really lucky that I’ve worked with producers who’ve always encouraged that and
some of them have become great mentors to me and are great friends.
SheKnows: Something about it must attract you though.
Charlize Theron: There’s something about that circus life that I really love and there’s also a business side of me that is really fascinated with how this industry
really functions and survives as a business and how you can, as efficiently as possible, make a film. But, you know, once I’m on set, I’ll make (my own) sandwich, like I don’t
care. I think that’s kind of the environment that filmmaking needs to be, for me anyway. You know, everybody’s in the same boat, man. And, at the end of the day, you’re just
trying to do whatever you need to do or can do to make the best film that you possibly can, you know. That’s about it. And then, knock on wood.
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