The Journal Meets... Young Adult star Charlize Theron
This week, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron appears on screen in a performance very different to the tense and emotional dramatic roles she made her name with.
The South African stars in Young Adult, the new film from Juno director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody. Theron plays Mavis, a divorced writer who returns to her home town to rekindle her romance with her high school boyfriend, only to find everyone has grown up except her.
“It was really different,” Theron says when asked what attracted her to the project. "When I originally read it I thought that it was ballsy in the sense that Diablo wrote a character, a protagonist who learns a lesson but doesn’t necessarily make a change in her life.”
Despite playing a character with few redeeming qualities and a lot to say for herself, Theron also feels there’s a lot more Mavis in people than they would like to admit.
“I think a lot of the things that she does that are so unflattering are things that all of us do to kind of get through the day, it’s really survival mode,” she explained. “The little lies and the way that she continually thinks that the grass is always greener on the other side, and this idea that your life is so fantastic and how you project yourself to other people. With Mavis it’s extreme but there’s a truth in there that a lot of women recognise.”
It’s a big year for Theron, with two other big movies coming out in 2012. First she plays the Evil Queen in Snow White & The Huntsman opposite Kristen Stewart.
“It’s super ambitious and very big,” she admits. The 36-year-old is also working with Ridley Scott on a prequel to the Alien movies, Prometheus. “Working with Ridley was amazing. I think every actor has a director that they dream to work with and for me it was Ridley, and he was everything that I hoped and dreamed for. I’ve been a really lucky girl lately.”
Young Adult takes a sideways look at the teenage experience, but how does Theron remember her own high school days? “I think I look back the same way that everybody does – with affection, embarrassment and cringeworthy moments mingled with pure hatred,” she laughed. “I think it’s conflicted. And I think high school is a conflicting time for any teenager, right?"
