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While it's hard to imagine that anyone could have made the disastrous
T&A spectacle that was Showgirls worth watching, moviegoers
who got a charge out of seeing actress Charlize Theron open a can
of whup-ass in Teri Hatcher's face in 2 Days in the Valley may agree
that it's a bit of a shame the statuesque South African beauty didn't
quite beat out Elizabeth Berkley for the Showgirls lead role. Not
that Theron herself ever shed any tears over that particular missed
opportunity — as she later explained of her failure to land
the high-profile part, "It was like I had some guardian angel."
And though it didn't exactly vault her onto Hollywood's A-list overnight,
Theron's energetic, well-reviewed performance in 2 Days —
her feature-film debut and her very first professional acting gig
— ensured that Hollywood casting directors would most definitely
remember her name.
The only child of Afrikaaner parents who owned both a road construction
company and a farm, Theron was born and raised in Benoni, South
Africa, where she experienced a thoroughly rural upbringing that
included (naturally) getting up at the crack of dawn to milk the
cows. At age 6, young Charlize began studying ballet, a pursuit
that would command her attention throughout the next decade of her
life. Whenever she was out of toe-shoes, the agile youngster devoted
her free time to a consuming passion for American movies: She first
experienced them at a drive-in located a 45-minute drive down the
road from the family farm, and later cajoled her parents into purchasing
a VCR. "I screamed and I yelled and we got one," she later
recalled. "And this little video store opened in town with,
like, 20 videos. I saw everything about 50 times." A particular
favorite was the Tom Hanks-Daryl Hannah mermaid romance Splash,
which caused the wide-eyed Theron to develop a huge crush on the
hunky Hanks.
Eventually her study of ballet landed the talented teen at a school
for the performing arts in Johannesburg, where she occasionally
sat in on drama classes. As a result of that casual interface, the
striking 16-year-old stumbled upon a modeling contest, which she
entered and won. Just weeks before her wholly serendipitous introduction
to the world of modeling, Theron's father had passed away, and when
an Italian fashion scout informed her that there was a modeling
contract awaiting her in Milan, the unassuming South African farm
girl was seized by a sudden ambition to travel and try something
new. Though a moderate success on the runways, Theron was unable
to land any major modeling contracts or cover shots, and eventually
the newness of her latest endeavor wore thin. When an American magazine
flew her to New York for a photo shoot, she decided to stick around
and make a new life for herself in the States. As she later told
one interviewer, "I went, did the job, and never made it back
to the airport. I was thrilled."
On her own in the Big Apple at age 18, Theron worked modeling jobs
whenever she could get them and swiped bread from restaurants when
she couldn't. The cold, wet winters proved especially trying for
the South African expat, who was accustomed to much milder seasons,
and she found herself continually intimidated by the city's maze
of towering skyscrapers. New York's Joffrey Ballet provided a respite
from her woes, but the security of taking up her childhood passion
once again was abruptly withdrawn in 1995, when a career-ending
knee injury forced her to fall back on modeling. She confided her
troubles to her mother, who recalled Theron's childhood passion
for cinema and suggested her intrepid daughter go to Southern California
and try to break into movies. Mom sent her money for that one-way
ticket to the big city, and Theron booked a flight to "Hollywood,"
only to discover, to her dismay, that her travel agent had put her
on a plane to "Los Angeles."
Once arrived at her destination, Theron checked into a low-rent
L.A. motel and spent the next two weeks blundering around town attempting
to make connections. She eventually ended up in line at a bank with
the final check from her various employments in New York, and threw
an impressive tantrum when the teller refused to cash the check
because it was drawn on an out-of-state bank. Hollywood talent manager
John Crosby happened to be standing in line behind her, and, after
helpfully explaining that she could cash her out-of-state check
at any post office, asked if she were, perchance, an actress. Somewhat
flustered, Theron replied that she wasn't, but that she fully intended
to become one. Crosby, who earlier in his career had discovered
Rene Russo at a Rolling Stones concert, offered his card. Friends
told Theron she'd been taken in, but after asking around and discovering
that Crosby was entirely reputable, she got in touch with him, and
he agreed to take her on as a client.
Thereafter, Theron underwent countless auditions for television
commercials, but was unable to land a single gig; as she later put
it to Interview magazine, "I could've sooner gotten arrested."
Her perseverance eventually resulted in her 2 Days role, which was
immediately followed by a chance to work with childhood crush Hanks
on his directorial debut, 1996's That Thing You Do! Hanks raved
over her audition, blushed when told of the bright young neophyte's
youthful infatuation, and eventually signed her for a small role
as an all-American everygirl who finds love with the dentist of
her dreams after her drummer boyfriend starts spending too much
time with his bandmates. The following year, Theron logged prominent
roles in decidedly different lawyer flicks, the Michael Richards
farce Trial and Error and the Keanu Reeves-Al Pacino thriller The
Devil's Advocate. Though absent from theaters during most of 1998,
she turned heads with her bang-on portrayal of a callow supermodel
in Woody Allen's Celebrity that fall, and made her debut in a starring
role, opposite Bill Paxton, in Disney's remake of Mighty Joe Young.
No stranger to the ups and downs of celebrity romance, Theron dated
actor Craig Bierko for two years before moving on to Third Eye Blind
vocalist Stephan Jenkins. Before 1999 was out, she starred opposite
a trio of Hollywood hotties: the New Line horror flick The Astronaut's
Wife paired her with Johnny Depp; she joined Tobey Maguire in an
adaptation of John Irving's The Cider House Rules; and she wrapped
the crime drama The Yards which matched her with Joaquin Phoenix.
She is currently starring once again with Keanu Reeves in the weepy
Sweet November.
"I was always Mama's girl, and I always felt like her protector."
- on the revaltion that Charlize's mother shot and killed Charlize's
father while he was in a drunken rage. The shooting was ruled self-defense.
"At first I found it really hard using three different English
accents: South African, faking the American, faking the accent required
by the job. I decided to make it easier for myself and just do one.
I haven't lost my culture, just my accent."
"Women have conquered the world. And with everything we go
through, it's about time we had a female president. I don't think
we're that far away, but it should have happened already. I wouldn't
be surprised if Hillary Rodham Clinton runs - I really admire her."
"I've always been very proud to be a South African and I've
always been very honest to people about that. And whatever I can
do in my power I promise you I will do. I don't think it's too much
pressure. I think it's our duty as citizens of this country. You
don't have to win an Oscar to do something good for your country.
We all can do that. If I can be an encouragement for that I'll be
glad to be that."
I'm 50-50 on glamour stuff. I'd rather put on a pair of jeans and
get on my Harley and act like a guy.
"I think of myself as a highly sexual creature. I have to
use that. I have no choice. I like it. I didn't grow up with a mother
telling me what was under my clothes was bad or evil."
"When all the Hollywood hype falls away, what is left? The
work, living and breathing a character. When you find that core,
nothing else matters."
"I've always been very proud to be a South African and I've
always been very honest to people about that. And whatever I can
do in my power, I promise you I will do. I don't think it's too
much pressure.
I think it's our duty as citizens of this country. You don't have
to win an Oscar to do something good for your country. We all can
do that. If I can be an encouragement for that I'll be glad to be
that."
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