In last week's featurette for Ridley Scottâs Prometheus, Charlize Theron explained that her character, Meredith Vickers, works for the Weyland Company and is basically overseeing the mission that the team aboard Prometheus is undertaking, and sheâs also a bit of a hard ass. However, when you talk to her in person, you quickly realize that Theron has a mouth like a sailor, she's incredibly smart, and she can talk about anything you ask her.Yesterday in London, I got to participate in an extended group interview with Theron. She talked about making Prometheus, how the script evolved, working with Ridley Scott and Damon Lindelof, the practical sets, the physical nature of the role, and a lot more. In addition, she talked about her love of HBO's Game of Thrones and if she'd be open to being a part of it. Finally, for all you Mad Max fans, Theron says she leaves in two and a half weeks for Namibia to shoot Mad Max: Fury Road and "we start shooting I think around mid-July."  She also says it's "exactly the same script" they set out to make three years ago, "thereâs some badass violence in it," and it'll be up to George Miller if they make a PG-13 or an rated R movie. Hit the jump for the full interview.With so much start and stop on the development of Mad Max: Fury Road, you might think Theron would have lost some interest in the project. You'd be wrong. When she was asked what it is about the film that she's looking forward to taking on, she replied:
"I think that, just like [Prometheus], thatâs an interesting world. I feel that I have a real interest in this world, and I think people will have an interest in this world because Alien kinda set that up for us. I feel like the original Mad Max created such a vivid world, that to go back and re-imagine it and kind of replay in that sandbox sounds like fun to me. George really created a female character that Iâve never read anything like this. I mean, Iâm scared shitless, yeah."
She was then asked what Miller is asking her to do and if it's something she's never done before:
"No, itâs a really challenging piece of material. I think for me originally when they were like, âOh, Mad Max.â I was like, âUh, Iâm not going to play the fucking girl for Mad Max.â Then I read it and I was like, âOh, Mad Max. I feel sorry for you.â (Laughs) That rarely happens. Itâs just really, itâs two great characters. Itâs not the original Mad Max. Itâs the revamped Mad Max. Itâs Tom Hardy, whoâs incredible. So, the whole thing is just exciting, very, very exciting."
While many (myself included) thought this film would never get made, it really does seem like this summer it'll be in front of the cameras. Here's the full interview:
Warning: Slight spoilers are discussed in the following interview. Nothing that will ruin the movie, but if you're trying to avoid spoilers, you might want to read this after you've seen the movie.
As usual, I'm offering you two ways to get the interview: you can either click here for the audio, or the full transcript is below. If you want to hear Theron swear a lot, listen to the audio.
Question: Can you talk about how the script evolved from when you first read it?
Charlize Theron: Well, from the time that Ridley sent it to me, it was probably in a two-week period discussed it on the phone and he introduced me to Damon, and we kinda just had like a back and forth for a couple of days. Then Damon went for, I think just two weeks and did some writing and came back with a really, really good foundation. Then it kind of just continued, as all movies do. This wasnât an unusual experience for me, that you then sit down and have more discussions about it and more things come out of it and little tweaks here and there and things come in and go out. You know, thatâs kind of like ongoing for me on every movie, so thatâs kind of how this came about.
Is it nice to be able to finally talk about the film a little bit?
Theron: (Laughs) Like that much more? Everybodyâs like, I saw it that late. I just came out of a press conference and I saw some lady just go like this when I said something, like a Rottweiler, her ears went up. So yeah, I donât know how much we are actually allowed to talk about it. (Laughs) But truth be told, itâs nice to not say everything about a movie. I wish all movies were somewhat like that. Thereâs something nice about a film just speaking for itself and you canât do it with every movie. This movie kind of is a pedigree that people know what to expect, so you can get away with it. But itâs my favorite way to go and sit in a theater and have the lights go off and just not know what the fuck youâre going to see. I feel like everything is given away these days. For me, it wasnât hard at all not to talk about it. I could just be really cheeky and blame it on the studio.
One thing I like about the movie is itâs really hard to tell where there are sets and where he used green screen environments? I was curious about that. Was it a lot of it actually built on set?
Theron: The entire ship was built. Yean, an entire ship was built, I mean, like every button, every wall, every hallway, ever. I think Arthur did an amazing job. The green screen that I saw was through the windows. That was it. Even what the monitors were showing like the scene where Iâm watching Weyland out in space, he had pre-CGIâd all of that for us on videos so that it was projected for us to watch. It was so little green screen, for me, anyway, and from the inside of the ship, very, very little.
Can you talk a little bit about the first day you stepped onto the set? Iâm sure you were told youâre not going to have to worry about green screen, but thereâs something to be said about walking into that environment and seeing these.
Theron: Itâs amazing. I mean, I didnât realizeâyeah, I mean, I donât think we had a clear understanding of how much of it was going to be tangible, but that was ridiculous. I mean, the day that the projectors started showing the scene, I was like, âRidley, now youâve really crossed the line.â (Laughs) You know, I can act, too, a little bit here. I mean, you donât have toâ¦. But heâs that kind of director. I think he comes from the school of understanding that the marriage between that real set and CGI is what makes it good, because to have the actual set is helpful for your actors. And so, it helps raise the stakes for the performances, which makes the movie better. I know that what we did as actors in this film would not have been what it is if we were just acting with green screens around us and stuff like that. It was amazing. I mean, I walked on and had a bit of aâI could like chill my ego down because I was like, âMy ship, my ship, my shipâ¦â
Did that actually kind of feed the character a little bit?
Theron: My ego? Yes. (Laughs)
You said you liked exploring characters where ⦠people arenât born bad, so what do you think was driving Meredith?
Theron: Well, itâs a tough thing to talk about Meredith without giving the movie away, but I think there is a great quoteâand I feel horrible that I donât know who said thisâbut it was a great quote, it says, âThe only difference between all of us are the ones who are loved and the ones who are not.â I feel like Meredith falls in that category really well.
A lot of the stuff that the film explores thematically, existential questions, thereâs some body horror in the film. What component of film are you personally frightened by?
Theron: Frightened by? Oh, itâs the unknown. When I watched the film for the first time, I had a bruised elbow because I knocked my elbow into the steel part of the chair next to me like, three times. All of those moments were once they were out there in the unknown. I think thereâs something incredibly scary about that. I mean, and that fucking tagline is still on my head, âWhen youâre in space, no one can hear you scream?â That screwed me up for life. Like, sometimes Iâm by myself and Iâm like, âWhen youâre in space. No one can hear you.â I mean, that just screwed me up. So I think that stuff for me coincides with wanting to believe that youâre going to get an answer to something, and then discovering, obviously not, and the discovery is just fucking horror. Thatâs scary.
Were you one of these people that wants to rewatch all the other "Aliens" films? Have you seen all of them?
Did you rewatch them?
Theron: No, no, I didnât. No, because it didnât feel necessary. I think there is a part of me thatâs always a little bit like, âWhy would I torture myself? Just in case you forgot how big the shoes are youâre walking in, take a look again,â you know what I mean? Like, I think I pussy out. So, Iâm not that kind of person. There was nothing that was relevant for me to have to do that because we werenât making a prequel or a sequel or anything like that. It was just a similar world, and that was really it. So I didnât feel like it was a part of my homework. I also didnât want anything to kinda throw me or maybe in my subconscious, influence me in what I ended up doing in the film.
Regarding the world and your homework, how much were Damon and Ridley there to give you background that didnât make it into the movie, but that sort of opened different doors within this future?
Theron: A lot. There was a lot of stuff that didnât end up in the movie, but I think you canât be attached to those things as an actor. I want to be in a good movie, and so the narrative is way more important. I think that stuff helps create maybe a thickness to her that wouldnât have been there. I think in the long-run, all of that stuff was really important. They were great. I mean, Damon was always around. Ridley was just always asking questions. It was just one of those environments where we were always talking about it, always, and there were even moments where Michael Fassbender and I would kind of enhance on our scenes and talk about it. Ridley was incredibly just open to all of that stuff. It was just a very collaborative set, and my fear was that we were trying to answer things that you canât answer, and thatâs when it becomes problematic, and it wasnât that kind of set. We really just enjoyed asking all the big questions, and not necessarily finding the answers.
Did you have much fun on the set even though itâs an intense film?
Theron: Yeah, I mean, I like to work that way. I donât know how to not work that way. So, I mean, I always have a good time because God, I mean, weâre just a bunch of kids who never got to grow up, and now weâre playing on a spaceship. How can you not enjoy that, you know? So yeah, I had a great time making this film.
Youâre known for your comedy so did you take the lead on that?
Theron: I think Fassbender took the lead on this one. He took it to a whole new level because he always had his computer around, which I donât travel with props. I just travel with my talent. Yeah, he always had a computer around, and fuck me, that bastard can pull some nasty shit up. There was a lot of that like, in the corner. Weâd be waiting for people or whatever, and Fassy would always be on his computer like, âCheck this out.â Iâm like, âOh my God! I have to do a scene right now, you asshole.â
Like what? I feel we need a detailed description of one.
Theron: No, oh God, no. No, Iâm not even going to fall for that. Iâm not that jetlagged. No, and he was a blast. We had these little dorm rooms in Pinewood, and mine and his were right next to each otherâs, so that was the little like high school. But, it was such an ensemble cast. It was nice that everybody had a good time, you know? When you have to do the work, you do the work. I think actors who know their job know thatâs how you do it. You donât show up and make people miserable. That poor grip whoâs standing there, he just wants to feed his family. He doesnât need to hear about your psychosis on life and love and death.
After seeing the movie, people were theorizing that your character might be an android. Thatâs not said in the film and probably is not even true. I wanted to know if you thought of that.
Theron: (Laughs) We played around with a lot of stuff, Iâll just say that, nonspecific things. I donât think we ever went like that. (puts her finger down as if pressing a button) But we played around with a lot of stuff, and we threw a lot of stuff out there very loosely, and maybe they influenced some of it a little bit, but there was definitely something that happened once David and I kind of stood next to each other, where I started feeling like his posture was overtaking my posture. Thereâs the good age-old question like, âIs the chicken before the egg?â Like, is it him or is it me or is it part of my DNA in him? We did talk about that a lot, that it was nice to have something ambiguous about the origins of both of us, maybe, like why do we look so much alike? Why am I walking so much like him? Is it that I am an android or is it that I gave him human qualities, that I gave him my DNA? We played with a lot of that shit, which was fun.
The dialogue was delivered in a very specific way. It kind of reminded of âAlien,â in a very Kubrick kind of way. Did Ridley give you any direction of how he wanted your character to deliver the dialogue?
Theron: We just talked a lot, because when you play a character that is somewhatâthere is a power struggle here for her. She is very much in constant need to want to be in control of everything. Thatâs all sheâs doing. From the moment that the movie kind of takes off, sheâs up first, sheâs making sure... Thereâs always something about her trying to control the situation. Ridley and I talked a lot about people, especially women who come from these kind of dynasties that are kinda set up by men, their fathers usually. There might be other sons in the family, but for some reason, the girl just kind of has the DNA of the dad. We wanted to have something of her kind of come across that was reflective of those people that Iâve seen and know. When I watched those women, there was something very interesting about her almost being condescending and passive-aggressive in the way she talks, you know? Itâs tricky because you donât want the audience to kind of go, âEuuch.â I liked that because it made her a little bit more interesting to me than someone who was just completely confident and theyâre in control the entire time, or not. I didnât want to play it in the extremities. I wanted it to just be kind of that she was condescending most of the time and she was very passive-aggressive. I think all of that comes from a horrible place of insecurity and vulnerability.
What are your thoughts on being in the spaceship, being in space, on extraterrestrial life? What do you think?
Theron: Iâve always thought it was very plausible. I havenât really like experienced anything in my life that changed that, so I think that itâs very, very, very possible. I mean, factually we know that thereâs living cells out there, so we know that. If you read science, we can go by that. So are there actual full creatures? I wouldnât say âno."
What scene did you most enjoy shooting?
Theron: What scene did I like shooting?
Yeah, most enjoy?
Theron: I canât really talk about the scenes. (Laughs) Oh⦠Iâm itchy all over. (Laughs)
Youâve got to use the flamethrower so I wondered if it was that.
Theron: Yeah, right, like you guysâI have to trust you. No, I mean, look. Iâll say in general, I liked all the stuff that really kind of dived into her real agenda, Iâll say that. I like all of that stuff because thatâs when you find the truth of the character. The human condition is all about us pretending to be something sometimes that weâre not. When you get into the core of people kind of stripping all of that away, thatâs for me, as an actor, always the most fun stuff to do.
Iâm really looking forward to a certain âMad Maxâ movie that is coming up. What can you tell people about that project and when do you begin filming?
Theron: I leave in like two and a half weeks and we start shooting I think around mid-July in Namibia. Iâm fucking dying, too, itâs been three years. Itâs time to skin this cat already, so yeah, Iâm very excited about it.
To follow-up on that project obviously itâs been start, stop, start, stop. Is the script that you were given all that time ago exactly what youâre still doing?
Theron: Yes, exactly the same script. I know. It was more logistics. It was the fact that he had to finish âHappy Feet.â Then there was terrible floods in Australia, and the desert just never recovered from it. That sounds horrible. It did recover in a beautiful way, but not in a way that we needed it to, so that was a huge problem for us.
What is it about that project that youâre looking forward to taking on?
Theron: I think that just like this thatâs an interesting world. I feel that I have a real interest in this world, and I think people will have an interest in this world because âAlienâ kinda set that up for us. I feel like the original âMad Maxâ created such a vivid world, that to go back and re-imagine it and kind of replay in that sandbox sounds like fun to me. George really created a female character that Iâve never read anything like this. I mean, Iâm scared shitless, yeah.
What is it heâs asking of you? Is it something youâve never done?
Theron: No, itâs a really challenging piece of material. I think for me originally when they were like, âOh, âMad Max.ââ I was like, âUh, Iâm not going to play the fucking girl for âMad Max.ââ Then I read it and I was like, âOh, âMad Max.â I feel sorry for you.â (Laughs) That rarely happens. Itâs just really, itâs two great characters. Itâs not the original âMad Max.â Itâs the revamped âMad Max.â Itâs Tom Hardy, whoâs incredible. So, the whole thing is just exciting, very, very exciting.
Are you as excited to be back making huge movies?
Theron:Â I just want to make good movies. Honestly, the only difference for me with this stuff is that there is more people on the set. You know, the narrative for me is always the most important thing. I feel like 15 years ago you could compartmentalize these things. You could be like, âWell, thatâs your little indie movie, and this is your big film.â I feel like now, movies like âDistrict 9,â I think studios have learned that you can merge the two. A good narrative and a big blockbuster is a good fucking movie, so why separate the two? So, those are the kind of movies that Iâm looking for. I donât want to separate like my good work from my big studio movies anymore. I just want to be a part of some good storytelling.
So do you feel you have a new lease of life, tackling harder subjects and tricky films?
Theron: I mean, Iâve had a really great last year. Everything from âYoung Adultâ to this, I feel very creatively satisfied and going on to âMad Max.â So I feel really, really lucky, yeah.
You were involved in a small indie movie that went to Sundance a couple of years ago, so are you still involved in production?
Theron: Yeah, we produced âYoung Adult.â Then, I think we have eight projects now that are being greenlit for next year. Iâll go right into one in January. But yeah, we have about eight movies. Weâve got two shows at HBO, one with Ridley, one with David Fincher. We wrote a Chris Buckley movie there, that Iâd like to do. We have a deal at ABC. We have some shows there.
Will you be involved at all as an actor as well?
Theron: On the projects? Some of them, yeah, some of them Iâm involved in, some of them, Iâm not, no.
Whatâs the deal with TV?
Theron: I think some of the most creative work is coming out of television. I felt itâs very immediate and I like that. Itâs really fast. Itâs got a pace to it, and thatâs why I think everybody in my field wants to just do good material. We want to push the envelope. Whatever field you can do that, thatâs where you want to do it, and I think thatâs why people like David Fincher and Ridley Scott are interested in it, too, because when you sit down on a meeting in HBO and theyâre like, âMore, more.â Youâre just like, âOh yeah, I love this.â Sometimes itâs a little harder in film. I think also itâs a great audience, take advantage of it. Itâs a great audience.
I think most of us agree that TV right now is the best itâs possibly ever been. What are some of the shows that you just canât get enough of?
Theron: I like a lot of different shows. (Laughs) I watch a lot of stuff that people are somewhat shocked by, but I am absolutely like foaming at the mouth with âGame of Thrones.â Like, I cannot get enough of that. When my son came in my life, that was a bottle feed because I couldnât watch television, I used to watch so little. That was my TiVo feed every two hours, was watching âGame of Thrones.â My mom was like, âDo you think itâs fine that youâre feeding your son while thereâs like sword fights?â I was like, âItâs fine, Mom. Itâs fine.â So, Iâm somewhat obsessed with that right now. I like âVeep.â Iâm really excited for Aaron Sorkinâs new show.
I have to ask you a follow-up. If they reached out to you to do Season 3 or 4 of âGame of Thrones,â is that the type of show youâd be like, âIâm going?â
Theron: Iâd be totally open to it. Iâm open to anything, dude. Iâm open to anything. Thatâs what I would ask the aliens. Iâd be like, âDo you watch âGame of Thrones?ââ Yeah, Iâm open to do anything. Iâd be like âHey, alien ,what do you think of Game of Thrones? Lord Snow, really?â (laughter)
When did you last take a day off? When are you planning to take a day off?
Theron: Oh my God, yeah, itâs been a little crazy. Did you hear that, Kate? I need a day off. Tell that bitch over there. (Laughs) She keeps working me to the bone. I am going home and I think in a week or so, hopefully, Iâll be done with all the press stuff, and then I can kind of into my cave and start preparing for âMad Max.â
Are you going to go down to South Africa?
Theron: Yeah, Iâm there until the end of the year, so Iâll definitely make a trip down there, yeah.
I wanted to ask about âMad Max.â Is that one of those films where itâs going to be PG-13, or are you guys pushing for a hard R? Do you know?
Theron: I canât say. I mean, ultimately itâs going to be up to George Miller, but it feels likeâ¦
I know thereâs some violence.
Theron: Yeah, yeah, thereâs some bad-ass violence in it. I mean, if we do what the script is, I donât know how you can do, but then I feel like PG-13 is pushing a little bit, too, which is good. It feels likeâI donât know. I remember being like, young watching âAlienâ and loving it.
You said that the physical part of this role took you by surprise?
Theron: On this? No, the gear was tricky and I have like an old injury on my neck, so that space thing just wasnât great for me, but yeah, when I read it, it was like this much of a description. With Ridley, that turned into like, a three week shoot. I was like, âDude, it said I was running for this much. Why are we still running? Why am I still running?â (Laughs) Thank you, guys. Thank you.
For more on Prometheus, here's 4 Clips and Almost 5 Minutes of Behind-the-Scenes Footage and my other interviews from London:
- Michael Fassbender Talks Prometheus, Ridley Scott, Viral Advertising, Twelve Years a Slave, Possible Prometheus Sequels, More
- Ridley Scott Talks Prometheus, Viral Advertising, Tripoli, the Blade Runner Sequel, Prometheus Sequels, More
- Guy Pearce Talks Making Prometheus, Viral Marketing, Working for Ridley Scott, and Briefly Mentions Iron Man 3
And here's a few more recent articles:
- New Featurette for Prometheus Focuses on the Ship
- Two New Featurettes for Prometheus Focus on 3D and Logan Marshall-Green
- Noomi Rapace Contacts Peter Weyland in New Viral Video for Prometheus
- New Featurette for Prometheus Focuses on Charlize Theronâs Character
- Damon Lindelof Talks Turning an Alien Prequel into Prometheus , the Viral Campaign, Revealing Too Much in Trailers and More
- New Spoilery TV Spot for Prometheus