Charlize Theron reveals her kids think the Oscars are ‘a waste of time’ if she doesn’t win
HOLLYWOOD’S CHARLIZE Theron has told how her kids think awards ceremonies are “a waste of time” if she is unlikely to win.
The mum-of-two says daughters Jackson, eight, and four-year-old August gave her their advice ahead of this year’s Academy Awards.
She was nominated for Best Actress for Bombshell — the same gong that she won in 2004 for her role as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster — but on this occasion she lost out to Renee Zellweger.
Charlize, 44, says: “When the Oscar nomination came in, it was my third time.
“They’re just like, ‘Will you win this time?’ And I said, ‘You know, listen, there’s a good shot I’m probably not gonna win.’ And my oldest just went, ‘Well, this sounds like a waste of time.’
“They feel a mixture of super-sad and kind of angry (if I don’t win). The little one was like, ‘I really wanted you to win,’ like angry, and my eight-year-old was just pure disappointment.”
Charlize adopted both her children from her native South Africa — and says they do not understand her fame.
She explains: “They don’t really have a concept of it. It’s so beautiful how innocent they are. It’s really cute how they just don’t understand it. They have no idea how fortunate I am. I was trying to explain that to them.”
Charlize is the star of new Netflix fantasy action movie The Old Guard, playing the leader of a gang of immortal mercenaries battling an evil scientist who wants to replicate their DNA.
Her character Andy wields an axe — which Charlize had to hide in the back of her car when she took it from the set because her children kept trying to play with it.
She says: “There were a couple of moments where a valet brought my car around, and this axe was just lying in the back seat. So I definitely got some looks.
“My children found it very entertaining. I had to really hide it from them because they wanted to play with it all the time.”
In 2010, Charlize split with Irish actor Stuart Townsend, who she had been with for eight years.
Since then, the Tinseltown beauty has been linked to some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Brad Pitt, Ryan Reynolds, and Keanu Reeves.
I want more representation, just selfishly, for my own girls.
Charlize Theron
She was said to have got engaged to Sean Penn in 2014 — which she later denied. They split the following year.
Charlize focused on being a mum to Jackson, who she had adopted in 2012, and then took on August in 2015.
Now Charlize, who has previously spoken about the guilt she feels over her privilege growing up in Apartheid-era South Africa, wants equality in the acting industry so her two black daughters can see more role models on screen.
She said: “I want more representation, just selfishly, for my own girls. I want that for the world as well but, of course, it starts with the fact that I’m a mum to two small black girls and I want them to grow up in a world where they see themselves, where there is an awareness that they can be whoever they want to be because they see it.
"And that’s not just in cinema, that’s in life, too. If we are silent, we are just as culpable, and we have to use our voices. That is our responsibility.”
The Covid-19 pandemic forced all studios to shut down temporarily, allowing Charlize to spend more time with her daughters.
She said: “I have to take a break — my children don’t know who I am any more. Take a break and just be a mum for a second. I’m never not going to work but I need to just take a moment.
“I love being a mum. I get up with them at 5.30am every day. I make them breakfast. I pack their lunches. I cook lasagne for them. On the weekends, we hang out with family and friends.”
But the single star admitted that she loves to get the kids to sleep at a good hour so she can indulge in her favourite TV programme — trashy US reality show The Bachelor.
She said: “I make sure my children go to bed early because I love it. Nothing gets in the way of that.”
Despite having an Oscar, a series of blockbuster hits to her name and an estimated worth of £90million, Charlize still gets hung up on the occasional movie flops.
She said: “Unfortunately, I’m not one of those actors who doesn’t care. I do care. You work really hard on these things and there’s nothing easy about it when you somehow feel like you missed the mark.
“That’s the unfortunate thing about what we do. It’s not overnight. You don’t pull a good film off overnight. It’s tedious. It’s a lot of time and energy, and when it doesn’t work, you feel it. You really feel it.”
Thankfully for Charlize, comic book adaptation The Old Guard has soared to the top of Netflix’s most-watched list.
The film’s central love story features warriors Joe and Nicky — a gay couple played by Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli.
It is the first time a major streaming service has had a same-sex couple at the centre of a blockbuster.
It’s always a little overwhelming that first month in the gym, and you worry that it’s not going to come back.
Charlize Theron
Recalling the first time she looked at the script, Charlize said: “I opened it up, read four pages of it and I was like, ‘Whoa, this is really interesting’. I remember some people going, ‘Yeah, but can we pull this off? I was like, ‘Yes, we can do this.’
“Then we screen-tested Marwan and Luca together to see their chemistry. It felt like one of those moments where you just went, ‘Wow, OK. This is new. I have not seen a lot of this.’”
And after months of being a stay-at-home mum, the film forced her to get back into top shape.
Charlize says: “It’s always a little overwhelming that first month in the gym, and you worry that it’s not going to come back. Even when I started, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I think my past as a dancer really helped — my years of being a ballerina.
“Using my body in that way, I think that connection between the brain and the body doesn’t go away. You just have to wake it up again. But it’s still tedious even if you have that. It’s punishment. You have to just show up and keep doing it.”
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Charlize looks incredible but is still insecure about one part of her body. She reveals: “I have this terrible insecurity about my shoulders.
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“When girls have those frilly things on their shoulders, I can’t wear those. I look like an American football player.”
That sounds like a whole different ball game, Charlize.
The men who she treasured
- RING OF IRE . . . Sean Penn began dating Charlize in 2013 and was thought to have proposed to her – but long after they split in 2015, she said they were never engaged
- HERO . . . after becoming the first woman from her home continent to win an Oscar, Charlize returned to South Africa and told Nelson Mandela: “You inspire me.”
- IT’S A WRAP . . . Charlize met Irish actor Stuart Townsend on the movie set of 2002 thriller Trapped and went on to have an eight-year relationship with him
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