Charlize Theron Can't Stop Injuring Herself While Doing Her Own Stunts

0:00 -Our first guest tonight is an Academy

0:03 Award winning actress and producer you know

0:04 from films such as "Monster," "The Old

0:06 Guard," "Bombshell," "Atomic Blonde," and "Mad Max:

0:09 Fury Road." She both produces and stars in "Apex,"

0:12 which premieres on Netflix this Friday, April 24th.

0:14 Let's take a look.

0:16 Tense music plays]♪♪♪♪[ Animals chattering][ Rocks shuffle,

0:33 Sasha shouts][ Breathes heavily]♪♪-[ Screams]-[ Sasha

0:46 groans] -Please welcome back to the show, Charlize Theron everybody.

0:53 Cheers and applause]♪♪♪♪ Hello.

1:07 -Hi.

1:08 -It's so nice to have you back.

1:09 -It's nice to be back.

1:10 -As we can tell from the clip, this is about a super chill vacation.

1:14 -Yes.

1:14 Yes it is.

1:15 Laughter] Your dream vacation.

1:17 -Yeah, it's a vacation gone right.

1:19 -And meeting new friends.

1:20 -Meeting new friends!

1:21 -Yes.

1:22 -Yeah.

1:22 -Making memories.

1:23 -Oh, my God.

1:24 It really is like, you know, I watched it and I was like, I got to camp more.

1:29 Audience laughs] I got to camp more in places where the phones don't work.

1:34 Laughs] -Oh, my God.

1:35 I hope we don't change people's idea of camping 'cause camping's beautiful.

1:40 -It is, but...

1:41 -Yeah.

1:42 -...it is a lot.

1:42 -Minus the serial killer.

1:43 -Yeah, there is a serial killer element to it.

1:45 -It's weird how, like,

1:46 a place that's considered beautiful and scenic and where people go

1:50 hike and can turn into where a serial killer leaves their bodies.

1:53 -Yeah, well, you know, it goes to the old adage,

1:55 like, serial killers can ruin anything.

1:58 Laughs]-[ Audience laughs] -You know what I mean?

2:00 No matter how beautiful it is.

2:01 -It is a good edge.

2:02 -Yeah.

2:02 -They always say, that's like when they're saying like,

2:03 "should you invite one?" They're like,

2:05 "Just remember." -You're playing with fire.

2:07 Laughs] Yeah.

2:07 They can— they have a way of turning things around.

2:09 -Yes, really quickly.

2:10 -You've been doing a ton of press about this.

2:12 And so, I just feel like, I just want to like, chill.

2:15 I don't want to make you feel like you have to sell this show anymore.

2:18 This movie, excuse me.

2:20 Sighs] -It's— yes, you've earned it.

2:22 Audience laughs] -Thank you.

2:23 Because there's so much you have to do so much in this.

2:25 -I really appreciate it.

2:26 -You had to rock climb.

2:27 -Yeah, I had to, like, do...

2:28 -There was kayaking.

2:29 -I had to, like, my little fingers.

2:30 -My tiny little fingers.

2:32 -I will say that is the part of rock climbing

2:33 that I— that's the part that I think is the most uncomfortable.

2:36 -The fingers?

2:37 -Yeah.

2:37 -Yeah, I'll tell you, the worst part actually is the chalk

2:40 that you have to put on your little fingertips.

2:42 -Yeah.

2:42 -I don't like that.

2:43 It's like chalk down— you know, nails on a chalkboard for me.

2:47 I don't like dry, chalky things on my fingers.

2:50 I don't know if I could ever really be a rock climber.

2:52 -Were you ever, like, a rock wall person at a gym before this?

2:55 -Okay.

2:56 -Never gone.

2:57 But I do love it.

2:58 I— now I still do it.

2:59 -Gotcha.

3:00 -Yeah.

3:00 -There's a— you know, I don't want to give much away,

3:02 but it opens with a real, uh...

3:04 Again, nothing in this movie is this the good version of.

3:10 Laughter] -Which is what makes it so great.

3:13 -The only thing where you're like,

3:14 "you know what I would like to do that's in that movie,

3:17 is escape." That's the one activity that you really do well in this movie.

3:20 -It's a lot, yeah, it causes a lot of angst, this movie.

3:23 But in the best way.

3:24 -It's really I mean, it's so— and I mean, I want to say,

3:27 obviously, like, your character's not having a lot of fun.

3:29 This movie is so much fun to watch.

3:30 Like it is just like, exactly— like the minute it starts,

3:32 it's like totally, you know exactly— -You're in safe hands.

3:35 -Yeah.

3:36 -You're wonderful.

3:36 Taron's so good.

3:37 -Taron is amazing.

3:38 -He's such a lovely person.

3:39 He's such a maniac in this.

3:41 Laughter] -I know, it's scary.

3:42 It's really scary when you meet like, a really nice actor.

3:44 And then they do [bleep] like that.

3:46 Laughter] -Yeah.

3:47 -And there's also...

3:47 -Did I...

3:48 -Did I know you?

3:49 -Yeah.

3:50 And there's not a lot of other actors in it.

3:52 Like, you know, after like, half an hour in...

3:54 -No, it's just us.

3:55 -Yeah.

3:56 So you can't even look to another actor and be like,

3:58 what the [bleep] going on with Aaron.

4:00 -You know exactly what the set was like.

4:02 You have it down.

4:03 That was it.

4:04 -Um, you— I wanted to ask.

4:05 You did a fantastic, I highly recommend uh, an interview on the Daily.

4:09 And one of the— you talked about your mom and what an incredible person she is.

4:13 But there was a story I wanted to ask you about that I found very funny,

4:16 which is you started as a dancer and then— well, there were two things.

4:20 One, you said you got too tall to dance.

4:23 -I mean, like, there are tall dancers, but it's harder.

4:26 -It's a lot harder, yeah.

4:27 -I would imagine, yeah.

4:28 -Because your feet, which are like the key thing, they're so far away.

4:31 Laughter] Like, the communica— like that to like this part,

4:35 to talk to them is like...

4:39 I'm not, I have no dancer training, so I don't know if that's right,

4:42 but it seems— it seems like it's the reason.

4:45 -You have it correct.

4:46 That is what it is.

4:47 -There was like, a very harsh Russian woman that told you,

4:50 [Russian accent] "Your brain is too far away.

4:52 Laughs] -Your brain is too far from your feet.

4:55 -"It's no easy way to say this, Charlize." -This is exactly what it is.

4:59 -"Brain is too..." -That is exactly what it is.

5:01 Normal voice] You said that your mom was the one who recommended acting,

5:04 but you did say that, like, when she said, like,

5:06 you should do this because you were always so good on stage, she also like,

5:08 shared with you that she maybe didn't think you were the best dancer.

5:12 -My mom is, uh, she doesn't know how to lie.

5:15 -Yeah.

5:15 -And she does not— -Which, by the way,

5:17 I think is like— -Ultimately a good quality.

5:19 -It's a great quality.

5:20 -From a parent especially.

5:22 -Mm.

5:23 -Yeah.

5:24 Laughter] -I can take it better now.

5:26 But yeah, when you're little, you're just like, "mm." Uh, she was honest though,

5:30 and I don't think, you know, I think I was an okay dancer.

5:34 I worked very hard.

5:36 But I wasn't very— my technique was never great.

5:40 -And were you like, were you cognizant of that?

5:42 Like when you looked around a room of other dancers were you like...

5:44 -I think so, I tried very, very hard.

5:46 -I worked very hard.

5:47 -Right.

5:48 You never want to like, go see like,

5:49 a dance show and then be like, "You know what?

5:51 They worked very hard."[ Laughter] "You could see,

5:54 you know what, you could see on their faces,

5:56 how hard that was for them." -"Their brains

5:58 are really connecting to their feet." -"That tall girl,

6:01 I felt bad."[ Laughter] You could see her feet

6:05 were getting messages so much later than the short girls.

6:08 Laughs] -A little slow to the feet, little slow to the feet.

6:12 She was just like, she said this thing.

6:15 I mean, I didn't elaborate on this.

6:17 Um, but she used to say, "You know, I used to know when you were coming out

6:21 on stage because I could hear you cough." -Oh, my God.

6:24 -And it was like, so crazy because I'm not talking, but it was like,

6:27 the nerves were kicking in and I was— she was like,

6:29 that's when I knew you were going to come out and like, be a character.

6:31 Like you were going to be really good because

6:33 I would like do a little cough in the wings.

6:36 And that part I knew I was good at because

6:38 I remember being on stage and being in the state, like,

6:41 the state of like, what athletes talk about like that flow

6:45 state where you're not even thinking about anything, you're just in it.

6:49 I love— I love that part of it.

6:51 -By the way, that is the sweetest thing and a reminder of like,

6:55 how parents are just like tuned into their children more than...

6:57 -If they are.

6:58 Yeah.

6:58 -When you realize— Like, when your parent tells you something like, "Oh,

7:00 when I heard a cough" and you're like, "Oh, my God." -She remembered that.

7:04 -Yeah.

7:04 Like, a thing you might not have even noticed you were doing.

7:06 -I now notice that I do it when I make a movie too.

7:09 Like right before we roll, I do this little thing where I— I cough.

7:13 -That must have been rough during like, COVID.

7:15 Laughter] -I made so many movies during COVID, Seth.

7:21 Laughs] -Like all of us.

7:23 -Um, did you, how many of these— how many practical stunts were you doing?

7:28 I mean, I think last time you were here,

7:29 we were saying that you kind of always have just recently had a surgery,

7:32 but I think this— you kind of got— escaped this one without a major...

7:36 -Nothing major, but I did have two surgeries on my right arm.

7:39 -On my elbow, yeah.

7:40 Okay.

7:40 -And was it from specifically this?

7:42 -Yeah.

7:43 I got yanked down right into, like, a nice big steel bolt in the floor.

7:48 -Just, rah, right into it.

7:51 -Yeah.

7:51 -So you do a lot of you know, I will say the other thing I liked

7:54 about that interview was you did say that like,

7:56 your dance training is actually really helpful for these sort of stunt heavy,

8:00 physical films, but yet you still seem to, like, keep...getting hurt.

8:06 Laughter] Is it— is it— -Am I supposed to feel good in this interview?

8:12 I just want to know what you're like, what am I— -And when it's over, I do.

8:17 -I would like you to fill out...

8:18 Laughs] We would really welcome— We would welcome a Yelp review.

8:21 -Okay.

8:22 Got it.

8:22 Fantastic.

8:23 Laughs] -Um, I— I think that— look, I will be honest, I am very accident prone.

8:30 Very and have been my whole life.

8:33 My mom would say, "If there were 500

8:35 people in a room and something were to happen,

8:37 it would happen to you." And it's true.

8:40 I would go on, um, like class, like, uh, like we had— like it was more camping.

8:46 What do you call it, like, summer camp when you go away in America?

8:50 -Yeah.

8:50 -Okay.

8:51 So we went like right into the bush, like, so deep into the bush.

8:54 I sounded like Donald Trump there for a second.

8:56 Laughter] And I would come home always with like a bandage or something.

9:01 I mean, terrible things, like, terrible things.

9:04 Like, falling with a glass in my hand and cutting my finger off.

9:07 -And it's...

9:07 Audience gasps] No, it's okay, guys, I'm used to it now.

9:10 Laughter] -It's all right.

9:11 It's all right.

9:12 Makes for a really good dinner conversation.

9:14 Uh, but so I know that about myself.

9:17 So when people say, "This has never happened," I go,

9:20 "But it will happen with me." Yeah.

9:22 "So let's, let's prepare for that." -I— I'm definitely clumsy.

9:26 -Yeah.

9:27 And I'm— one of my three kids is very like,

9:29 definitely has my clumsiness and like,

9:31 sometimes we will— and it's again, it's like your cough,

9:33 like when we hear our son coming down the hallway, like,

9:35 the telltale sign is he's coming is the moment -where he's like,

9:38 "Ow!"-[ Laughter] And it's just like, it's just a hallway.

9:42 And he came in the other night and he's like, "Well, I was on my way here.

9:45 And surprise, surprise, I stubbed my toe." And we're like,

9:47 even he knows it's like, a joke now that he can't walk down a hallway.

9:51 -Oh, yeah.

9:52 Some of us just are, you know, we're just— we're just more accident prone.

9:55 But I think, it's also just par for the course.

9:58 I just— I like, I don't mind it.

10:00 -Do you get— like, when there's a movie like this where,

10:03 you know, obviously there's like the acting element of it,

10:06 but then the physical challenge of the stunts and stuff is

10:08 that, is that exhilarating getting ready for a movie like this?

10:10 -Yeah, because I mean,

10:12 the reason why I love this movie so much and movies where I've done action,

10:17 I love action movies when you can— when you can

10:20 use the action as narrative and it doesn't feel compartmentalized,

10:24 like the movie stops and action happens, and then the movie picks up again.

10:28 And I like the challenge of looking at physicality

10:30 and how you can tell story through it.

10:31 I really do love that.

10:32 That's when my brain really connects to my feet.

10:35 -Yeah.

10:35 Laughter] We can see it— we can see it on screen.

10:38 -I'm always like, I'm like, "Look,

10:39 you can see they're talking." -You can literally see.

10:42 Laughter] -Um, it's such a wonderful film.

10:45 It's just so lovely to have you here again.

10:47 -Thanks so much, Charlize.

10:47 -Oh, it's so nice to be here.

10:49 -Thank you.

10:49 -There's nobody better.

10:50 Audience cheering] -Charlize Theron.

10:52 "Apex" premieres on Netflix this Friday, April 24th.

10:55 Stick around, we'll be right back with Jorma Taccone.