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FAR-FROM-DUMB BLONDE
Charlize Theron stars in the recently released Hancock. The stunning actress tells us what drew her to the film about an unconventional superhero, and what it was like working with co-star Will Smith:
Summer wouldnt be the same without the obligatory action blockbusters competing for box office ratings - yet its rare to find an Oscar-winning actress and an Oscar-nominated actor sharing top billing on one such popcorn movie.
But then Hancock, starring Charlize Theron and Will Smith, is no ordinary action adventure - its a superhero film with a difference.
I think this will be the craziest ride an audience has ever had, says Charlize, with a wry smile.
I have been in this business for fourteen years and I walked out of the theatre after a screening and told my manager that this was original. I do not throw that word around. I have never seen anything like this. We took a genre that audiences are quite familiar with and did something very unique!
Hancock (Will) is a completely flawed superhero - drunk and dishevelled, he no longer cares about anyone or anything and goes on drink-fuelled missions that usually do more harm than good.
Until, that is, he rescues PR guru Ray (Jason Bateman), who insists on transforming Hancocks public image and helping him clean up his act - against his own wife Marys (Charlize) better judgment.
We have never seen a superhero live a life that is so uncomfortable to watch, says blonde Charlize, who is bright and articulate - and on lively form today.
He is not a nice guy. He has no social skills and you cant have a normal conversation with him, she continues.
As Hancock gets to know Ray and his wife, it seems there is a strong attraction between him and Mary - and we soon discover she is hiding a dark secret.
She makes this conscious decision to live in suburbia and be this soccer mum to her stepson and be the perfect wife - she lives in this bubble, explains the 32-year-old.
But when people do that it usually means they are hiding some characteristic inside themselves that scares them. That is Marys case. She knows who she is and what she is capable of. I find it very complex when I get to play women like that.
South African-born Charlize grew up an only child and went to boarding school in Johannesburg. At 16, she travelled to Italy and then New York on modelling contracts before training in the States as a ballet dancer - her first love.
She only turned to acting after a knee injury stopped her dancing - landing roles in films like The Devils Advocate and Cider House Rules in the mid-90s.
It was as an uglified serial killer in 2003s Monster that she won massive critical acclaim - and an Oscar for Best Actress.
Shes set to return to drama in her next two projects, The Burning Plain and The Road, before reprising her role in the follow-up to The Italian Job, the ironically titled The Brazilian Job.
Her friendship with Will Smith goes back to 2000, when they both starred in The Legend Of Bagger Vance - and hit it off straight away.
I didnt get to work with Will much on that film, but we goofed around a lot on set. I knew I really liked this guy so I knew there was so much more room for us to explore as actors, she explains.
He could so easily just lean back, but he shows up and works incredibly hard, she adds.
In a flurry of praise for her co-star, Charlize continues: I think Will Smith is going to break the conception about independent filmmaking and the big blockbuster world with this movie. People are so quick to categorise that the better acting is in the independent world and the big blockbusters are all about action and are mainly fluff.
Will is going to change that misconception single-handedly.
THERONS SCREEN HIGHLIGHTS
:: The Devils Advocate (1997)
Charlizes first major big screen role was playing Keanu Reevess wife in this 1997 drama.
:: The Cider House Rules (1999)
She starred alongside Tobey Maguire and Michael Caine in this Oscar-winning period piece about a young man making his way in the world.
:: The Italian Job (2003)
Charlize played a beautiful safe-cracker in the 2003 remake of the 1969 classic - with Mark Wahlberg in Michael Caines original role of Charlie Croker.
:: Monster(2003)
She was heavily disguised under prosthetics to portray real-life prostitute-turned-serial killer Aileen Wuornos in this gritty drama which won her an Oscar.
:: The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers (2004)
Charlize was back playing a wife - Britt Ekland, the second wife of the famous British comic - in this 2004 biopic.
:: North Country (2005)
Another year, another Oscar nomination for Charlize - this time as a female miner who won a landmark lawsuit in 1984 for sexual harassment.
:: In The Valley Of Elah (2007)
Charlize got political last year with this drama about a couple battling to discover the truth about their sons disappearance after a tour of duty in Iraq.
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