USA TODAY International Edition
Theron put ‘ issues aside’ to play Kelly
‘ Bombshell’ role is latest in a career carved from playing rebellious women
LOS ANGELES – Let it be known that Charlize Theron doesn’t want the easy ones.
Since winning a best actress Oscar in 2004 for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in “Monster,” it’s been a roller coaster of tough bald rebels (” Mad Max: Fury Road”), female James Bonds (” Atomic Blonde”) and the worst people at your high school reunion (” Young Adult”).
This Friday brings “Bombshell“nationwide, with Charlize Theron, 44, playing Megyn Kelly in an arresting newsroom drama that chronicles how Gretchen Carlson’s lawsuit against CEO Roger Ailes tipped off a wave of sexual harassment allegations at Fox News, including a lawsuit filed last week by host Britt McHenry. The film features a trio of arresting performances, rounded out with Nicole Kidman as Carlson and Margot Robbie as Kayla, a fictional young producer targeted by Ailes.
Many have marveled at how convincingly Theron, who also produced the film, transformed into Kelly thanks to subtle prosthetic eye pieces, colored contacts and a deeper octave. ( Kelly recently said even her 6- year- old son thought it was her on the movie poster.)
In person, Theron, holding a cup of tea while battling a winter cold, says she relied on Kelly’s public record rather than a face- to- face with the TV star – nor does she think any sort of televised sit- down now between the two would be meaningful. “I don’t see the need of doing anything sensational like that,” she says.
Director Jay Roach, who last waded into the political sphere with Bryan Cranston’s “Trumbo” and the Sarah Palin- focused HBO film “Game Change,” says they purposely cloaked the process in making “Bombshell.”
“We’ve made a promise to every person we spoke to, and we spoke to many, that we wouldn’t reveal who we talked to or didn’t talk to, because we wanted really honest off- the- record conversations” to get “Bombshell” right, he says.
“Bombshell” also is careful not to sanitize its version of Kelly: The film depicts the former Fox News star’s initial reticence to speak out against Ailes, who allegedly also sexually harassed her but, after being rebuffed, became her champion.
In real life – as depicted in the film – Kelly eventually added her name to a list of women who spoke to investigating outside counsel, assisting in Ailes’ ouster from the network he founded. ( Ailes died in 2017, less than a year after his exit.)
Kelly, 49, did not respond USA TODAY’s request for comment on the film’s portrayal of her, but confirmed Friday on Instagram she has seen “Bombshell,” saying she “only got my first look at the film once it was past the point of any possible edits, though there are certainly some I would have made.” Kelly called watching the film “incredibly emotional experience for me, and for those with whom I saw it.”
Before Kelly jumped to the “Today” show in 2018 ( a short- lived run that ended after her on- air defense of blackface as a Halloween costume, for which she later apologized), she was both a hero to the right and a lightning rod for the left, spurred by flashpoints like her feud with then- candidate Donald Trump, her on- air insistence that “Santa just is white” ( both of which made the film) and her stance against maternity leave ( which did not).
“I think this was the first time that, you know, I had to really kind of put some of my personal issues aside,” says Theron, who is a mother of two adopted black children. “And it wasn’t until I really zeroed in on that year and a half ( of Ailes’ ouster) that it became way easier for me. I think if this was a biopic, I couldn’t have done it.”
But no matter if you identify with women like Kelly or Carlson, Theron says, “I still believe they have the right to be safe in their workplace. And so do all of us.”
Robbie recalls how Theron was devoted to being on the set even when she wasn’t on camera, including the day Robbie performed the film’s most unsettling scene, in which Kayla is forced to hike up her skirt for a drooling Ailes ( John Lithgow). Roach closed the set to a smaller crew, and Theron stayed by the monitors, looking out.
“She was there every single second,” says Robbie.
With accolades now being rained upon “Bombshell” – Theron and Robbie each were nominated for Golden Globe Awards and the film led nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last week – the actress is all too aware that a celebrated movie can’t fix a systemic issue like workplace misogyny and sexual harassment.
It’s why she resisted pressure from early feedback at test screenings that wished “Bombshell” had a happier ending.
“It was the one note that I really had to like check myself ( on) a couple of times, because I got so emotionally angry about it. Because it’s exactly the problem that we have with these stories. It’s this idea that it’s in the past and it’s been handled and it doesn’t exist anymore,” says Theron.
The majority of Fox News talent who spoke out or were named in lawsuits against Fox News, from Rudi Bakhtiar to Julie Roginsky, have never found equivalent work in media again. Carlson is still gagged by the non- disclosure agreement she signed during forced arbitration with Fox News, an issue she’s lobbying Congress on.
“We always said there’s no way we can portray this as being ‘ Mission accomplished,’ “says Roach, adding that Carlson still hasn’t seen the film.
“History tells us if you sue your boss, you will be the one that will ultimately lose everything,” says Theron. “That has never changed. They knew the risk and still went ahead with it.” bravery, she emphasizes.
“It just shows you how desperate women are to make something right that has been so wrong in their life. And that’s why it’s always so shocking to me when people say, well, do you believe her? Why would I not believe her? She has nothing to gain. If anything, she’s going to lose everything. Why would a woman do that to herself?”