Charlize Theron names her four favourite movies: “It’s a gem”
Success wasn’t instantaneous for Charlize Theron, who started acting in the early 1990s after being spotted by a talent agent while at the bank. Her first role was an uncredited part in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, which isn’t exactly representative of what her career would become.
Yet, she soon appeared in various films over the coming years that gave her major roles, like The Devil’s Advocate and The Cider House Rules, subsequently establishing herself as one of Hollywood’s most impressive new stars.
By the early 2000s, Theron was already an Oscar winner thanks to her performance in Monster, where she played the serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Since then, she has spread herself across a wide range of genres, and her varied taste in movies certainly reflects her love of memorable pieces of cinema, which she revealed to Letterboxd.
Her first pick was a classic movie that changed Hollywood forever. Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, helped to kickstart the summer blockbuster trend, with the tension and heat practically dripping off the screen while a killer shark wreaks havoc. It’s the film that allowed Spielberg to become a household name and one of Hollywood’s most influential and enduring directors, acting as a testament to his ability to create groundbreaking and unforgettable works of cinema, no matter the genre.
Theron is also a huge fan of The Matrix, released in 1999, which marked a huge moment in cinema for sci-fi and action. With its distinctive use of certain effects, like slow motion, the film changed the way that Hollywood approached blockbusters, particularly the action genre, and this is something that never ceases to amaze Theron.
“I love the Matrix world. I think the Wachowskis did something that just wasn’t done before,” she said. “It’s just incredible when a movie like that comes around and that just kind of takes your breath away.”
If she’s looking for something to make her cry, Theron always picks Old Yeller, the classic Disney live-action film from 1957 about the bond between a family and a stray dog that has left generations of viewers emotionally traumatised ever since. It’s a tragic movie that is beloved by many, even if the decision to rewatch the film is essentially a form of self-inflicted torture. When asked if she cries every time, Theron said “yes!” – because who doesn’t?
Finally, a more obscure pick in the form of a “tiny little movie” that she has “always, always loved”. Once Around by Lasse Hallström, with whom Theron would work on The Cider House Rules, is one of her all-time favourites. Claiming that it’s a movie that “no one knows about,” despite its stacked cast, the actor called it a “gem.”
Once Around featured big names like Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Aiello, and even Gena Rowlands, but the movie didn’t endure like Hallström’s other works, such as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape or his Oscar-nominated My Life as a Dog. It was his first fully English-language movie, and while it might not have received unanimous praise, the film has found a dedicated fan in Theron.
