Few actresses inhabit action characters in Hollywood like Charlize Theron. Both a consummate dramatic actress, as evidenced by her Oscar-winning turn in Monster, and an impressive action star, with a resume that includes Mad Max: Fury Road, The Fate of the Furious, and Atomic Blonde, the South African actress now debuts The Old Guard on Netflix.
The film, which has already received critical praise, has been directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Greg Rucka, based on his comic book of the same name. The Old Guard also stars KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. In the movie, Theron heads a group of immortal mercenaries on a mission to protect their identities.
Theron plays Andromache "Andy" of Scythia, a warrior with regenerative healing abilities, sent on a mission with her team to rescue a group of kidnapped children in South Sudan. Their assignment takes an unexpected turn when they realize they’ve been set up to be exposed for their immortality.
As an immortal warrior, Theron shows impressive fighting skills, further establishing her standing as a modern action icon. Perhaps what’s equally impressive about the actress’ film choices is that they haven’t relied on standard Marvel or DC fare to reach action stardom. With her role as Imperator Furiosa in George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, she held her own against another atypical action giant, Tom Hardy.
In addition to not being a traditional action star, Theron’s impressive range on screen is unusual since she’s 44, not an age when many actors have the stamina or even the opportunity to tackle such demanding roles. Yet given her transformative power, as seen in Bombshell, where she was hard to distinguish from the real-life Megyn Kelly, it seems clear that Theron will continue to inhabit energetic and unforgettable characters for years to come.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Theron addressed the lack of support women receive in the action film arena. “Unfortunately, the very sad truth of any film in the genre with a female lead, where they don’t succeed, there is this mindset of, ‘Well, if it doesn’t work, you just don’t touch it again.’ A lot of women don’t get a second chance, but when men make these movies and fail miserably, they get chance after chance after chance to go and explore that again…It’s kind of like you get one chance, and if it doesn’t work… If you look at me, for instance, Fury Road came a good decade after Æon Flux.”
Perhaps Theron’s secret has been to never limit her choices, balancing smaller films like In the Valley of Elah, Young Adultand Dark Places with blockbusters like Prometheus and Snow White and the Huntsman. What is clear though, is that regardless of the role she chooses, she never ceases to amaze audiences.
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