Actor of the Week: Charlize Theron
There is no doubting that, when it comes to actresses, Charlize Theron is up there with the best, which is why she takes this week’s Actor of the Week. Theron’s career has varied from role to role, from playing a superhero in Hancock, to a villain in the Fast & Furious franchise. She has this incredible presence that a selection of actors have, where no matter how good or bad a film may look, if she is in it, the film sells.
I remember the first time I saw Charlize Theron, and that was in 1998’s Mighty Joe Young. I was only young at the time of seeing this movie, but I instantly liked her, and the film. Mighty Joe Young is about a Gorilla named Joe, that grows to an gargantuan size, who is looked after by Theron’s character “Jill Young”, from a very early age. As they both grew up together Joe become a loyal friend to Jill, but due to his unusual size, he was tormented by poachers, or people wanting to use him as a tourist attraction. Throughout the whole film we see Jill fight for Joe’s wellbeing, sending the audience a powerful message about animal rights. This film was aimed at children, therefore wasn’t a huge success, but it certainly put Theron’s career on the right track.
Theron continued to dabble in many different films, but her career really hit a high when she starred as Aileen in Patty Jenkins’ “Monster”. Monster is a dark film about Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute turned serial killer. Theron really did not hold back when playing this part, and was rewarded for her dedication by cleaning up on the awards front - she won Best Leading Actress in both the Academy Award and Golden Globes, cementing Theron in Hollywood as one of the best.
From this point on, Charlize Theron started to become more and more popular, starring in films like Hancock alongside Will Smith, and The Road, where she plays the wife of Viggo Mortensen. The Road is one of the most depressing films you will ever see, but this does not make it a bad film; quite the opposite in fact. The Road is an incredible story about a family just trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, but with a very realistic approach. There are no heroes in this film, it is simply just a family trying to get by as best as they can, and withstand the torments of the wasteland they now live in.
As I said at the beginning of this blog, Theron’s career is very varied, which has seen her lend herself to sci-fi films like Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel, Prometheus, as well as comedies such as A Million Ways to Die in the West. Theron has also starred alongside a favorite actor of ours, and a former Actor of the Week - Tom Hardy, in the Mad Max reboot, which was a huge success.
Theron’s most recent work saw her play the villain in the the latest Fast and Furious movie, Fast 8, where Theron played Cipher, a tech genius who is out to wreak havoc on the world by manipulating the hero of the film, Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel. I have to say this film was a bit too over-the-top, and wasn’t a film I particularly enjoyed, but if there was one thing I did like a lot about this movie, that was Theron’s part.
What I really enjoy about Charlize Theron is every character she plays is very empowered. When it comes to films requiring a badass female lead, Theron will always be on the top of the list, making her a great inspiration for women. I am always sold on when a movie has Theron in, as she rarely disappoints, which is why it was so easy to write this week’s Actor of the Week, thanks Charlize!
