Back in 2003 Charlize Theron starred in what would later become one of her most famous roles: she played real-life serial killer Eileen Wuornos in Monster, and the actor famously let go of his vanity to change his appearance for the role. Her performance earned Theron her very first Oscar statue, and fans and critics alike were thrilled to see what the South African actor would do next. That’s why it was a surprise when she decided to star in a niche comedy sitcom called retarded development.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Theron spoke about the odd decision and revealed that it was a calculated choice. At the time she was thrown into retarded developmentshe also took on the lead role in the sci-fi action film Aeon Fluxwhich came out in 2005. The film performed poorly at the box office, earning just over $50 million. Theron says she knew the film would not do well, and she also remembered that her childhood story combined with poor box office performance could end her career, so she decided to try something else to make it a success. show your talent:
“It was one of the scariest things to be on the set of a show that is so developed and so brilliant. But I think I needed it to show myself differently because people thought of me as someone who was depressive as hell, like my mother shot my father. [When Theron was 15, her dad came home drunk and threatened her and her mom with a gun, prompting her mother to shoot and kill him in what officials later determined was self-defense.] And I just fucking loved that show and it’s going to sound like “poor me” but I really feel like sometimes as women we get one chance and I knew Aeon Flux was going to be a fucking flop. I knew this from the beginning, which is why I made Arrested Development.
Theron also noted that not being a producer and not having the influence that she currently has, she did not give her the opportunity to speak out and say what, in her opinion, did not work out. Aeon Flux. She emphasizes that this was exacerbated by the fact that she was a woman at a time when the industry often ignored women’s opinions: “I really didn’t have the experience to say what I think Tom Cruise has said over the past 20 years. years, i.e. “Shut this crap, get four more writers on it, and let’s figure it all out.”
Aeon Flux was adapted from the popular MTV animated series and told the story of a woman who discovers a conspiracy in the utopian world of the year 2415 in which she lives. retarded development, although universally acclaimed, is a comedy series that had a limited audience and was canceled prematurely. The series was revived by Netflix in 2013 and became one of the flagship original films that skyrocketed the streamer’s popularity.
Watch the clip with Charlize Theron in retarded development below:
Source: Collider
