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Charlize Theron has opened up about the challenges she faced in her role as Fox News host Megyn Kelly in Bombshell.
Theron stars in the upcoming film about the 2016 sexual harassment scandal at the US network, which resulted in the firing of CEO Roger Ailes.
Her performance might have earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination, but Theron explained that she struggled to come to terms with Kelly before accepting the role.
“There are things she’s said in the past that have bothered me,” she told the BBC, referring to Kelly defending people dressing with a blackface for Halloween.
“But the more I zeroed in on what the film was about, [I realised] it wasn’t a Megyn Kelly biopic, it’s about a year-and-a-half at Fox, and she was a part of many other women who experienced this thing and then ultimately succeeded in doing something that was thought of as impossible.”
“And so once I narrowed it down to that, it became easier for me to make it about that, and whether I have issues with her or to, she was part of something that I think will be a historical marker for women’s rights,” explained Theron, who stars alongside Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie.
The actress, who also co-produced the film, opened up about telling a pre #MeToo story in the time of the Harvey Weinstein case.
“It was really strange to make the film and slowly see these things all kind of unravel.”
She continued: “The Harvey [Weinstein] thing happened and that was really big, and when the tapes of the women were released, I think that’s when we realised that we were part of telling a story which was somewhat the origin story of this whole movement, and we didn’t know that before.”
Two years after Harvey Weinstein was first accused of rape and sexual assault, the Hollywood producer will finally stand trial in New York this month.
Bombshell premieres in the UK on 17 January.
From: Harper’s BAZAAR UK
