‘I’M REALLY HAPPY BEING SINGLE’
BACK TO KICK ASS ON OUR TV SCREENS, CHARLIZE THERON REVEALS HER SOFT SIDE AS SHE TALKS ABOUT FAMILY LIFE AND HER PASSION FOR GENDER EQUALITY
With her model looks, Oscarwinning talent and razor sharp mind, it’s hard to fathom how Charlize Theron has remained, according to the actress herself, single for over a decade. “Somebody just needs to grow a pair and step up. I’m shockingly available,” she jokes.
Charlize quashed rumours of a romance with Brad Pitt last year and appears perfectly fulfilled with her career both behind and in front of the camera, her activism and her “empowering” role as single mum to two adopted girls.
Chatting from Los Angeles, where she’s quarantining with transgender daughter Jackson, eight, and August, four, she admits she’s struggled with lockdown but is grateful for her ever present mum Gerda Maritz.
“I knew I’d need to have my mom help me if I was going to do this as a single parent,” she has previously said of her family set-up. “To not acknowledge her in co-parenting would be a lie. I’m so lucky to have that.”
Her own childhood in South Africa was traumatic. When she was just 15, her mum shot and killed her alcoholic father after he fired bullets through the door of the room the pair were hiding in. “In self-defence, she ended the threat,” Charlize has since said, describing her dad as a “very sick man”.
She’s currently starring as an immortal mercenary in new Netflix superhero movie The Old Guard. A vocal supporter of gender
equality, she’s pleased that the film has“two very interesting female leads”, but adds, “Unfortunately, we’re still living and working in a place where that’s sometimes very hard to find... It’s embarrassing that in my almost 30 years of doing this, I haven’t had that many opportunities to do that.”
The action thriller features some epic fight scenes that required months of stunt training, and for which the Atomic Blonde star had to overcome a dread of horse riding.
“I always had this fear, when I was on them, that something could go terribly wrong at any instant. So it was like a metaphor for my life in a weird way, this movie. It was therapeutic for me.”
Here, Charlize, 44, opens up about her rules on dating, why she’s a terrible teacher and shifting views on harassment at work...
Have you given up on love?
I’m still very open to that. I’d love to meet somebody. However, if something doesn’t feel right, I’m not willing to compromise. It definitely changed for me in my forties. I get myself in trouble every time I talk about this, but I’m actually really happy being single. My life feels really fulfilled right now, so it’s not like there’s this hole that I need to fill. But I am open to suggestions.
What are you looking for in a partner?
I hope I’ll meet someone who’s thrilled by all the things I have to offer. However, I’m now at an age where, until that happens, I’m not willing to settle for less. My life is just too beautiful, too good and I’m too happy to have anybody come and pee on my parade.
Do you think your fame, success and power intimidate men?
I’ve experienced moments when I realised my relationship would do so much better if I just made my life, or me, a little bit smaller. But then I grew up and I said, “F*** that!” You realise that you’re not living your full potential and you start to resent the other person – and that’s just horrible. I’d rather be single than resent somebody for not letting me be who I know I am.
You’ve spoken about disliking modelling early in your career. Why was that?
I realised it wasn’t the thing that I was supposed to do with my life and
I had no passion for it. I remember being on shoots and feeling like there was nothing I could do to make people happy. That’s a really sh***y position to be in as a young girl.
How are you coping in lockdown?
We’re doing good. I’m lucky I have my two little nuggets with me every single day, but at the same time... God knows I’ve been wanting a break from them! No, it’s really nice to spend all this quality time with my kids. That’s something I’m always yearning for when I’m working. I think if I was alone this would be more devastating for me – but the fact I get to be home with my kids and my mum is wonderful.
What are you looking forward to doing when the pandemic ends?
When everything’s safe, the first thing I’m going to be really excited to do is send my kids back to school [laughs]! I don’t want to homeschool any more. I have such a new appreciation for teachers. I thought I was doing really well until my eight-year-old said, “You’re a terrible maths teacher.” I can’t wait to not have that responsibility any more.
Who usually helps with the kids? I’m raising my beautiful children with this incredible ‘village’. Some of them are my best friends, as well as my mother. There have been days in the past where they’d show up at my door and I’d be like, “How did you know I really need you to take them for two hours?” Those people are very important to me, because I don’t think you can be a great mother without taking those breaks. Nobody can do it all the time.
Your new movie, The Old Guard, is a full-on action film – what training did you have?
I trained five days a week for about four months before shooting. I did a mixture of strength conditioning and combat training. A lot of it involved an axe-like weapon I use in the film. I’ve never done any weapons training quite like this. It was really tough – but really worth it.
How politically minded are you?
I want to have an awareness of what’s happening in the world. I have an urge to not walk this earth completely ignoring what the rest of the world looks like, or how political policies will change the value of my children’s lives. If you get stuck in the anger of politics, it doesn’t necessarily resolve anything.
Your last movie – Bombshell – delved into gender equality, as well as the #Metoo and Time’s Up movements. How did the positive reaction make you feel?
We started the project before any of these movements were in place. It was kismet that we found the script when we did. I think this conversation will eventually cause real change.
What was the toughest aspect of bringing
Bombshell to the big screen?
Two weeks before we were supposed to start shooting, we lost our financing and it put us in a very precarious place. But I’m very stubborn. I knew that if we didn’t start as planned, we’d probably lose a lot of our actors. I called Nicole [Kidman] and Margot [Robbie] and I said, “There are some issues.” And they both replied, “We don’t care, we’re making this movie.” But it was tricky.
Are things changing with regards to sexual harassment in the workplace?
There’s a real message being sent out that we’re not taking this lightly any more. Corporations know they won’t be supported if they don’t obliterate this behaviour. It’s not just about sexual harassment; it’s the fact that women have never been at the top places of power as men have been.
Are you optimistic about the future when it comes to these issues?
No, I’m not that much of an optimist. Human beings will always be complicated and messy and will always make mistakes. However, I do believe that we’re finally in a moment where there will be more consequences for bad behaviour. There’s an element of shame to a lot of this stuff happening right now in the world, which is a positive thing.
‘I’m too happy to have anyone come and pee on my parade’