Her first time watching Mad Max: “I saw Mad Max, and I remember certain images: the road, the cars going really fast. But I didn’t know who Mel Gibson was. I thought he was just some dude who had a really cool job. In South Africa, we didn’t have the whole celebrity thing—I had no idea that people knew actors’ names.”
Shooting Mad Max in Namibia, close to South Africa: “I was conflicted. Every**** knows that feeling of going home and being giddy and then, at the same time, wanting to projectile vomit. [Laughs] The shoot lasted an eternity—we were there for seven months.”
Shaving her head for the role: “At first, my character was going to be ghostlike and albino. And then I thought it would be stronger to shave my head. I called George [Miller] and told him my plan. He went silent, which I thought was a good sign. So I borrowed some clippers and buzzed it all off…. yes, it was really fun to shower with my bald head. You have not showered until you’ve showered hairless. That’s all I have to say.”
Her dogs and her son: “They’re all my children. I know people get weirded out when people talk that way about their animals, but love is love and care is care, and just because one needs a diaper and the other does not doesn’t mean you don’t have a deep feeling for them. The loss of some of my dogs has been just as devastating as the loss of a family member.”
Judgy about aging: “I do know that choosing to be a mom in my late 30s has been really great for me. It’s given me perspective… I think, like many women, I was judgmental toward women as they aged. Women, in our society, are compartmentalized so that we start to feel like we’re cut flowers and after a while we will wilt. I realize now that’s not the case—we can celebrate every age. That’s my encouragement to 20-year-olds who are terrified of getting older: Don’t have a nervous breakdown and don’t hit the Chardonnay too hard. Getting older is not that bad.”
Cele|bitchy | Charlize Theron on her son & her dogs: ‘They’re all my children, love is love’