In 2003, actor and producer Charlize Theron launched her production company Denver & Delilah after an epiphany while filming the critically acclaimed film Monster—a movie for which Theron won an Academy Award.
In a recent interview, Theron told Harper's Bazaar she got a sense some of the financiers behind the film wanted “a hot lesbian movie with me and Christina Ricci.”
Theron, however, wanted to respect the vision of director Patty Jenkins during the making of her first feature.
Theron's incredible transformation for the film also contributed to friction.
“Having absolutely no control over what you’re wearing is a big one that really f**king annoyed me for years."
"Having some guy make you have a fitting almost in front of them—stuff like that, it’s really belittling.”
Theron recalled a moment of clarity.
“When I started, there was no conversation around it. It was like, ‘This is what you’re wearing.’"
"And I remember one movie in particular, this male director who just kept bringing me in, fitting after fitting after fitting after … And it was just so obvious that it was to do with my sexuality and how f**kable they could make me in the movie. And when I started out, that was just kind of the norm.”
Theron hopes to change the industry to be what she wished she had when she began her career.
“There’s a natural fight in me to want to create environments that feel like the things that I wish I had 30 years ago when I started,”
The film The Old Guard, which Theron produced, had a cast and crew comprised of 85% women.
“I don’t always get it right, but I am very aware of looking at the big picture and saying, ‘Is this really the best we can do?’"
Theron shared more than anything, she wanted her daughters to see the value of her work ethic.
“I saw my mom work hard, and I remember just my whole life thinking, nothing is going to get handed. You have to work harder than anybody else in the room.”
People wanted Theron to name the industry powerful who made her early career uncomfortable.
The sequel The Old Guard 2 is set to be released next year.
Next month, you can see Theron portray a wicked dean in Paul Feig's Netflix film The School for Good and Evil.
