Theron doubles up on drama, action
David Germain

TORONTO—Possessor of one of the loveliest faces on the planet, Charlize Theron still finds herself explaining to people that sometimes it’s part of her job to hide her looks. The attention critics and audiences paid to her physical transformation in 2003’s “Monster” grew tiresome for Theron, who had gained 30 pounds and became almost unrecognizable behind splotchy makeup and dark contact lenses to play serial killer Aileen Wuornos.
Theron faced endless questions about how and why she concealed her cover-girl beauty. “The celebrity status in Hollywood has gotten really out of control,” Theron told The Associated Press at September’s Toronto International Film Festival, where her new film “North Country” premiered. “Like one of those snow-globe things, it’s this fragile little ball of perfection, and I think people have forgotten what actors do. After a while, I was like, `Well, what did you want me to do? Did you want me to play this woman and not look like her?’” That focus on her appearance gradually subsided in a wave of newfound respect for her as a serious performer, culminating in her best-actress win at the Academy Awards for “Monster.”
The posters for the blue-collar drama “North Country” resurrect the beauty issue. It’s a tight shot of Theron’s face, looking not homely, but drab and gritty, her face ashen, her blond hair wrapped in a yellow bandanna. Based on a true story, the film stars Theron as a single mom doing hard labor at a Minnesota mining operation; she leads a sexual-harassment lawsuit against male co-workers angry that women are taking on jobs traditionally held by men.
“People said, `Oh, you’re doing another ugly movie,’” Theron said. “I said, `No, I’m doing another film about real people, and it’s not about ugly vs. anything.’ It’s about searching for that constant truth, and I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at night if I know I didn’t search for that truth and implement it. I don’t know how else to do it as an actor.” Theron undergoes another transformation late this year, playing the black-haired, sleekly clad action anti-hero of “Aeon Flux,” based on the animated sci-fi series.
A former ballerina and model, Theron, 30, has dealt with the pretty-face syndrome since she decided to try acting in her late teens. At first she did not even tell friends she was taking acting classes, “because I knew the whole model-turned-actress thing, it’s not something where you go, `Well, that’s something to look up to.’ I think there’s just an initial reaction toward it that’s very negative,” Theron said.
From her first film role in “2 Days in the Valley” through such movies as “The Devil’s Advocate,” “The Italian Job” and her Woody Allen collaborations “Celebrity” and “The Curse of the Jade Scorpion,” Theron had proved herself a competent actress, but her looks always overshadowed her dramatic chops.
Her best performance came in “The Cider House Rules,” yet many of her movies had been critical and commercial duds such as “Reindeer Games,” “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” “Sweet November” and “Waking Up in Reno.” Lightweight films can result in a lightweight reputation, and Theron found herself generally relegated to roles as the beautiful girlfriend. Serving as a producer on “Monster,” she finally was able to break out of that mold.