Growing up, I watched more Bollywood movies than American ones: Charlize Theron | English movie news
As a young girl I grew up in South AfricaHollywood star Charlize Theron says watching Bollywood movies on Sundays was routine, as her home country has a large Indian population. Theron, the star of countless critically acclaimed Hollywood films such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Blonde, Monster, The Italian Job and Atomic Blonde, said she is fascinated by India and its culture. the people.
“The largest Indian population outside India is in South Africa. I flew in last night and we went to dinner, I walked into the restaurant and it smelled like home,” the actor said at the HT Leadership Summit here.
“I was like, ‘I know this smell.’ “I grew up with a lot of Indian culture around me. I think that’s partly why I always wanted to come to India. I’m fascinated by culture. I’m fascinated by the people and fascinated by the country. There she added: “The beauty here is unique to India, and you cannot find it anywhere else.”
The 48-year-old actress said she was introduced to Hindi films as a child and would watch them much more than Hollywood films.
“And because there is a large Indian population in South Africa, I was able to watch more Bollywood films than American films. When I was about 10 years old, we got that kind of broadcast on our TV and the mainstream films that were were Bollywood films.
“Every Sunday they show a new movie and this is what we did. Every Sunday we would sit and watch a Bollywood movie,” Theron said, adding that Indian films made her “fall in love with dancing.”
“Musicals were my favorite to watch,” she added.
Theron was in conversation with director Karan Johar, and the two discussed a range of topics, including her journey to Hollywood from South Africa, equal pay, cancel culture, and getting into film production.
Before becoming an actress, Theron said her passion was ballet, but a knee injury stopped her dream.
“It was soul-crushing because when you’re young, you feel invincible. You feel like you’ll never grow old. Your body is always going to work. I was 18 at the time. I never thought about doing anything other than being a dancer.”
“People in the background said, ‘You’re too tall and there’s too much weight on your knees.’ And I ignored that. Then I had an injury where I had to take two weeks off and then I realized I was like that. I’m not coming back from it.”
Theron said her mother encouraged her to try acting.
“You were a great storyteller when you were on stage. You believed everything you did,” she said. “You know, I heard they make movies in Hollywood,” she said.
The actor went to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and soon landed a non-speaking role in the 1995 film “Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest.”
After doing a few other films, Theron got the gig that changed her life – the 1997 film “The Devil’s Advocate,” in which she starred alongside Keanu Reeves and Hollywood icon Al Pacino.
“When you get a job with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves, you say, ‘Oh, this is a great opportunity, don’t miss it.’ I don’t think I ever felt comfortable enough to know that things would start now for me.”
Although her performance was praised, Theron said she did not receive many offers.
“I still had to do my best. The things that came to me were not projects that I was interested in. It was always either girlfriend or wife. So the things that I wanted to do, I had to go and prove myself,” she added. I had to take the test several times. “That wasn’t necessarily the one that was handed to me.”
After The Devil’s Advocate, Theron appeared in films such as Mighty Joe Young, The Cider House Rules, Reindeer Games, Sweet November, and The Italian Job.
Then came Patty Jenkins’ 2003 film “Monster,” in which she played the real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The actress, who gained weight and changed her appearance for the role, won an Academy Award for Best Actress.
“[Jenkins]knew exactly what she wanted and was incredibly clear. We were on the same page. We wanted it to feel grounded and feel as real as possible. We wanted to get to the real heart of the story.”
Throughout her career, the actress has also fought for equality in Hollywood, especially regarding pay.
As a superstar, the actress said she recognized her privilege in demanding equal pay but also wanted to change things for other women.
“I’m not like Jane Fonda there, but I want to always think about women outside my comfort zone. The truth is, there are a lot of actresses who will never get the opportunity that I got. And the bottom line is that we should be paid the same,” she said. Which we do in the same job. “We should be paid the same wages as men.”
Theron recalled a conversation she had with producers when she was in discussions about starring in 2016’s “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” which also featured Chris Hemsworth.
“It was a very simple conversation. They made an offer. And I said, ‘I don’t think this is what Chris Hemsworth would get.’ She added: “The answer was no.” I was like, well, I’d like to have what he got. That’s how it happened.”
“The largest Indian population outside India is in South Africa. I flew in last night and we went to dinner, I walked into the restaurant and it smelled like home,” the actor said at the HT Leadership Summit here.
“I was like, ‘I know this smell.’ “I grew up with a lot of Indian culture around me. I think that’s partly why I always wanted to come to India. I’m fascinated by culture. I’m fascinated by the people and fascinated by the country. There she added: “The beauty here is unique to India, and you cannot find it anywhere else.”
The 48-year-old actress said she was introduced to Hindi films as a child and would watch them much more than Hollywood films.
“And because there is a large Indian population in South Africa, I was able to watch more Bollywood films than American films. When I was about 10 years old, we got that kind of broadcast on our TV and the mainstream films that were were Bollywood films.
“Every Sunday they show a new movie and this is what we did. Every Sunday we would sit and watch a Bollywood movie,” Theron said, adding that Indian films made her “fall in love with dancing.”
“Musicals were my favorite to watch,” she added.
Theron was in conversation with director Karan Johar, and the two discussed a range of topics, including her journey to Hollywood from South Africa, equal pay, cancel culture, and getting into film production.
Before becoming an actress, Theron said her passion was ballet, but a knee injury stopped her dream.
“It was soul-crushing because when you’re young, you feel invincible. You feel like you’ll never grow old. Your body is always going to work. I was 18 at the time. I never thought about doing anything other than being a dancer.”
“People in the background said, ‘You’re too tall and there’s too much weight on your knees.’ And I ignored that. Then I had an injury where I had to take two weeks off and then I realized I was like that. I’m not coming back from it.”
Theron said her mother encouraged her to try acting.
“You were a great storyteller when you were on stage. You believed everything you did,” she said. “You know, I heard they make movies in Hollywood,” she said.
The actor went to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and soon landed a non-speaking role in the 1995 film “Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest.”
After doing a few other films, Theron got the gig that changed her life – the 1997 film “The Devil’s Advocate,” in which she starred alongside Keanu Reeves and Hollywood icon Al Pacino.
“When you get a job with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves, you say, ‘Oh, this is a great opportunity, don’t miss it.’ I don’t think I ever felt comfortable enough to know that things would start now for me.”
Although her performance was praised, Theron said she did not receive many offers.
“I still had to do my best. The things that came to me were not projects that I was interested in. It was always either girlfriend or wife. So the things that I wanted to do, I had to go and prove myself,” she added. I had to take the test several times. “That wasn’t necessarily the one that was handed to me.”
After The Devil’s Advocate, Theron appeared in films such as Mighty Joe Young, The Cider House Rules, Reindeer Games, Sweet November, and The Italian Job.
Then came Patty Jenkins’ 2003 film “Monster,” in which she played the real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The actress, who gained weight and changed her appearance for the role, won an Academy Award for Best Actress.
“[Jenkins]knew exactly what she wanted and was incredibly clear. We were on the same page. We wanted it to feel grounded and feel as real as possible. We wanted to get to the real heart of the story.”
Throughout her career, the actress has also fought for equality in Hollywood, especially regarding pay.
As a superstar, the actress said she recognized her privilege in demanding equal pay but also wanted to change things for other women.
“I’m not like Jane Fonda there, but I want to always think about women outside my comfort zone. The truth is, there are a lot of actresses who will never get the opportunity that I got. And the bottom line is that we should be paid the same,” she said. Which we do in the same job. “We should be paid the same wages as men.”
Theron recalled a conversation she had with producers when she was in discussions about starring in 2016’s “The Huntsman: Winter’s War,” which also featured Chris Hemsworth.
“It was a very simple conversation. They made an offer. And I said, ‘I don’t think this is what Chris Hemsworth would get.’ She added: “The answer was no.” I was like, well, I’d like to have what he got. That’s how it happened.”
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