Charlize Out of Character By Sara Davidson Trivia question: Name a recent Best Actress Oscar winner who grew up milking cows. Stumped? What if we tell you she’s blond and beautiful, except when she’s playing a female serial killer, in which case she’s shockingly scary? What if we add that she’s intensely passionate—not in the typical Hollywood way, but in galvanizing people into action for the causes she believes in? If you still haven’t guessed, it’s Charlize Theron. Growing up on a farm in South Africa, she picked corn, rode motorcycles and, yes, milked cows. In a country divided by apartheid, she was taught to speak her mind during highly charged political discussions. She learned to stand up for herself, a lesson driven unmistakably home one night in 1991 when she was 15. Her father arrived in a drunken rage, and in self-defence, her mother shot him dead. At age 16 and on her own, Theron moved to Europe to model, then to New York, where she studied ballet. After a knee injury, she made her way to Hollywood, where she had to fight for parts that required her to do more than look beautiful. Playing a serial killer in Monster was Theron’s biggest challenge. She became one of the few actresses under 30 to win an Academy Award, demonstrating a wizard-like ability to change the way she looks and moves, disappearing into her character. For her new film, North Country, based on the true story of a woman who brought a landmark sexual harassment suit against an American mining company, Theron spent time with locals and miners to absorb their culture. This kind of on-the-ground research, she says, allows her “to find the truth” in a role. RD: Is the story of your discovery true? You lost your temper when a bank wouldn’t cash your cheque and . . . Theron: It was my survival skills kicking in. When you’re that age and you’re trying to get by, if you roll over, you’re going to die. I had to stand up and say, “If I leave this bank without this cheque cashed, I’m not going to have a place to sleep tonight.” A [talent] manager behind me in line later introduced me to an acting school that I really liked. RD: It was a moment when a chance encounter changed the course. Theron: Yeah, yeah. RD: Did you experience apartheid growing up in South Africa? Theron: You couldn’t live there at that time and not experience it. But you know what? I had a wonderful childhood, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have been able to live in the nature that I did live in. RD: Were there wild animals around where you lived? Theron: Not on our farm. We had ostriches—and cattle. RD: What kind of farm? Theron: My parents had a road construction company, so they used most of the land for the big graders, machines and water trucks. But we lived off the farm to feed the household. RD: Did you work in the garden? Theron: I had to milk cows and pick corn—and learn how to drive the tractor at a very young age. RD: I have a friend whose ancestors crossed America in covered wagons. She was raised with a frontier ethic: “Whatever happens, I can handle it.” Was that same ethic taught to you? Theron: It’s all about survival. A good friend who still lives in South Africa deals with the circumstances there every day. She talks to me in this matter-of-fact way about having had her handbag robbed, or being held at knifepoint in her house. I was raised with the idea that you can feel sorry for yourself, but then, get over it, because it doesn’t get you anywhere. RD: Did you ever go through a period of rebelling? Theron: There was always this awareness that you have to be responsible for yourself in order to have what you want. And that meant “Be responsible with this little motorcycle that we’re going to give you, because you’re only five. If you’re not, you’re going to hurt yourself”—which I did. My mum wasn’t like, “Poor baby.” She was like, “You do wheelies. That’s what’s going to happen.” My mum’s philosophy was, “If you get yourself in trouble, you’ve got to get yourself out of trouble.” RD: How did your father’s killing affect you? Theron: That’s something I’m not talking about anymore. I feel like it’s just time to put that to rest. RD: Tell us about North Country. Theron: I play a woman who leaves her husband. To support her two children she starts working as a hair colourist. You can’t feed three mouths on that. The mine is hiring women, and she starts working there. Pretty soon, she can afford a house and take care of her kids. But, this mine is the bread and butter for everybody in the area. A lot of men feel that jobs are being taken away from them for women to work there. So, the women in the mines start being treated poorly. RD: How were they treated? Theron: There was a lot of verbal abuse, and a couple of times things got physical. It got pretty ugly. But the great thing about this story is that it’s not black and white—men being bad, women being good. It’s about people trying to survive in a small town where things are really difficult. RD: Have you ever personally experienced sexual harassment? Theron: I think the most important thing my mother instilled in me was that if you walk into a room weak, people will take advantage of you. If you send off the energy that says, “Look. I’m smart. Don’t try to pull one over on me,” that’s not going to happen. People talk about the casting couch, but I’ve never, never experienced anything like that, because I never walked into the room giving anybody any inkling that was remotely possible. RD: How did you prepare for the role in North Country? Theron: I spent as much time as I could with the people of this small town—to really understand their causes, on both ends. And there was an accent involved, which was a huge part for me, because it says so much about people. RD: When you assume a role, your whole persona changes. Had I not known that was you in Monster, I never would have recognized you. Theron: I grew up on a stage, as a ballerina. I played a swan, and when the swan died, I died. I never look at a role as me, Charlize, playing this person. This is a different person than I am, and I have to go and find that person. I have to go and find the truth. RD: You were named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People magazine. Did you know that you were beautiful growing up? Theron: I don’t think I ever heard my mum say, “What a pretty girl.” I heard her say, “What an incredible dancer, what an incredible performer.” I have days when I do my hair and makeup, put a little black dress on, and I feel hot. And I have days when I put jeans on and have this roll sticking out. But I like the way I look, and don’t spend much time in front of the mirror. RD: You have your own production company. What are you working on? Theron: I’m developing a show with John Walsh about a women’s correctional facility. We’re talking about murder and violence in these women. RD: More girls are getting involved in physical violence these days. Theron: It’s not rap. It’s not violence in movies. At the end of the day, the problem is what’s not happening in the homes of these families. Mothers aren’t raising their children to know what’s wrong and right. RD: You’ve played assassins and robbers. You don’t have any ambivalence about glorifying those roles? Theron: No, because I never would play a character who does horrible things and doesn’t take responsibility for his or her actions. They’re not finding some excuse, saying, “It was this movie I saw that made me kill seven men.” They’re saying, “Look, my circumstances sucked, but I know that what I did was wrong.” Hopefully, somebody can see Aileen Wuor-nos’s life and go, “I need to stay out of these situations so I don’t end up like that.” RD: You’re an animal rights advocate, aren’t you? Theron: Yes. I’ve worked with sanctuaries in South Africa and foundations in Los Angeles, like Best Friends and the Amanda Foundation. Whenever I can help out with free adoptions or fostering, I do. RD: Some people dismiss animal advocacy as frivolous, because there are people starving in the world. Theron: I come from a country where starvation is huge, AIDS is huge, so I’m very aware of people suffering and I’m involved in those issues as well. I started the first anti-rape campaign in South Africa years ago, when nobody talked about rape. But one is not more important to me than another. My mother used to say, “You have to fight for things that don’t have a voice.”