[imagesource: Josh Olins]

Charlize Theron recently opened up in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, speaking about motherhood, Hollywood, and making movies on her own terms.

The Mad Max: Fury Road star mentioned sexism in the industry before she went and launched her own production company, Denver and Delilah Productions.

She did that in 2003, right after her impressive portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, which earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.

She alluded to an unnamed male director who had made repeated attempts to have her look more “f*ckable” on set, which she called a “belittling” experience, per The Independent:

“Having absolutely no control over what you’re wearing is a big one that really f***ing annoyed me for years,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.

“Having some guy make you have a fitting almost in front of them – stuff like that, it’s really belittling.”

Theron, 47, continued: “When I started, there was no conversation around it. It was like, ‘This is what you’re wearing.’”

She went on:

“I remember one movie in particular, this male director who just kept bringing me in, fitting after fitting after fitting after… and it was just so obvious that it was to do with my sexuality and how f***able they could make me in the movie,” she said. “And when I started out, that was just kind of the norm.”

During the making of Monster, she said she could sense that the film’s financiers wanted “a hot lesbian movie with me and Christina Ricci” instead of the more nuanced vision director Patty Jenkins intended.

But she went on to ensure that her character didn’t pander to the financiers, like the powerhouse that she is.

Image: Josh Olins

Since then, Theron has made it her mission to fight against Hollywood’s urge to sexualise women, notes Variety:

“There’s a natural fight in me to want to create environments [on set] that feel like the things that I wish I had 30 years ago when I started,” Theron said, noting that her Netflix film “The Old Guard” shot with a cast and crew that was 85% women.

“I don’t always get it right, but I am very aware of looking at the big picture and saying, ‘Is this really the best we can do?’”

Having spent decades as a leading light in her industry, it’s great to see her leading the charge for change.

The actor and producer also spoke out earlier this year about not feeling safe on the Mad Max: Fury Road set amid her feud with Tom Hardy.

[sources:independent&variety]