Charlize Theron on fame: "I’ve never been at a Kim Kardashian level"
The 'Monster' actress says her star power is not what it used to be, and she finds it difficult to get financial backing for some of her projects.
Charlize Theron has been in the industry for nearly 30 years and has won numerous awards including an Academy Award. But the South African-born actress says her celebrity status now holds less currency in Hollywood than it did back in the day.
Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, the 47-year-old says she has never been as famous as Kim Kardashian.
"Working more isn’t, I think, going to change my level of fame. It just has always been a mediocre ride. I’ve never been one of those people that’s at a Kim Kardashian level. But I feel like it’s just always been this thing," she told the publication.
Charlize says that it is much harder for her to pitch projects these days. She says it is a sign that her star power is declining but also that Hollywood bosses are looking beyond just celebrity status.
“I will say, back in the day, it used to be like, you want to have some of this fame so you can go make the s**t that you really want to make. But now it’s like, I pitch s**t all day long and people are like, ‘No, thanks.’ I’m like, ‘I guess that’s not cash in the bank anymore.’ And that’s nice. It’s nice that you’re making things on the merit of how good they are versus this idea of, like, ‘Oh, you’re this thing, and we want to be in business with that thing.’ ”
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Despite the difficulties she faces getting financing for some of her projects, Charlize will appear in several movies in the next 12 months.
She is set to star in 'The Old Guard 2' on Netflix. The first film received an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was viewed by 78-million households in the first four weeks of its release in 2020.
Charlize is also back in action in the 'Fast & Furious' franchise. She will be reprising her role as Cipher in 'Fast 10'. The film is due for release in May 2023.
The 10th and 11th films are being filmed back to back and will reportedly mark the end of the franchise. Charlize also has a role in the upcoming fantasy film, 'The School for Good and Evil'.
She plays Lady Lesso in the movie, which also stars Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, and Michelle Yeoh. 'The School for Good and Evil' will debut on Netflix in October.
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Charlize says her children - Jackson (10) and August (7) - are starting to realise that their mother is a Hollywood star.
"They’ll see billboards of me sometimes, or we’re going through the airport and there’s a J’adore ad. They’ll pretend they’re so embarrassed. They’ll go, ‘Oh God. Don’t look, Mom. There’s a huge picture of you.’ ”
But she hopes more than anything that her children will see how hard she works to achieve her goals.
"I think that’s more important than fame or anything like that. I saw my mom work hard, and I remember just my whole life thinking, nothing is going to get handed. You have to work harder than anybody else in the room," she concluded.
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Main image credit: Instagram/@charlizeafrica, @kimkardashian