Charlize Theron scared a restaurant valet with a rubber ax while shooting her new Netflix film The Old Guard, she told Seth Meyers on Thursday.
In the film, Charlize, 44, plays an immortal soldier who is 6,000 years old, and uses a terrifying battle ax to cleave her enemies.
On Late Night with Seth Meyers, Charlize revealed that she’d spent a lot of time rehearsing with the weapon so she looked like she knew what she was doing onscreen.
Scared: Charlize Theron scared a restaurant valet with a rubber ax while shooting her new Netflix film The Old Guard, she told Seth Meyers on Thursday
New role: In the film, Charlize, 44, plays an immortal soldier who is 6,000 years old, and uses a terrifying battle ax to cleave her enemies
She told Seth, 46, that the film’s fight coordinator Danny Hernandez gave her a rubber version of the ax and told her to walk around with it ‘at all times.’
The fake blade was surprisingly hefty, she said, and its prehistoric, double-faced appearance made it seem ‘very, very real.’
‘It looks like it is going to hurt you just looking at it,’ Charlize explained, though she followed instructions when Danny told her to keep it by her side.
All times: She told Seth, 46, that the film’s fight coordinator Danny Hernandez gave her a rubber version of the ax and told her to walk around with it ‘at all times’
Hurt you: ‘It looks like it is going to hurt you just looking at it,’ Charlize explained, though she followed instructions when Danny told her to keep it by her side.
‘Danny said, ‘Listen, just keep it with you at all times, even if you go for a drive, if you go to a restaurant… just have it in the car, just hold it, or if you’re in the kitchen, just twirl it a little bit.’
Charlize grew so accustomed to having the prop around that she threw the ax in her car when she went to dinner one night, but when the valet pulled her car around, he stared at her in horror.
‘His face!’ Charlize recalled. ‘He didn’t say anything, and I couldn’t quite understand it. I was like, ‘Did I tip him? Is it because I did not tip enough?’ And then I got in the car and the big ax was just lying there, and I was like, ‘Ohhhhh.’
Twirl it: ‘Danny said, ‘Listen, just keep it with you at all times, even if you go for a drive, if you go to a restaurant… just have it in the car, just hold it, or if you’re in the kitchen, just twirl it a little bit’
Big ax: ‘His face!’ Charlize recalled. ‘He didn’t say anything, and I couldn’t quite understand it. I was like, ‘Did I tip him? Is it because I did not tip enough?’ And then I got in the car and the big ax was just lying there, and I was like, ‘Ohhhhh’
The Mad Max actress was visiting Late Night to promote The Old Guard, which she co-produced.
She allowed that she’d been having a good summer, admitting that the coronavirus crisis had ensured she was able to stay home and spend more time with her two children.
‘I’m trying to figure out how I can just do everything from here,’ she told Seth, wishing she could film movies and promote them from home.
Co-produced: The Mad Max actress was visiting Late Night to promote The Old Guard, which she co-produced
Seth, who’d read The Old Guard comics, asked her if she’d like to be immortal like her character Andy, and Charlize said it must be ‘incredibly lonely.’
‘The idea of losing people that you love over and over and over again, I would have a really hard time with that,’ she opined.
Seth admired her fight scenes in the film, pointing out that several took place in enclosed spaces, such as hallways and airplanes, which added to their intensity.
Lonely: Seth, who’d read The Old Guard comics, asked her if she’d like to be immortal like her character Andy, and Charlize said it must be ‘incredibly lonely’
Losing hope: ‘The idea of losing people that you love over and over and over again, I would have a really hard time with that,’ she opined
He asked Charlize if the shoot felt different than those she was accustomed to, since her co-star, director and three fellow producers were female.
Charlize affirmed that it had, sharing, ‘There’s a sadness attached to the fact that it feels so great, because it does feel very unusual, and that’s not right. When I look back in my over-25-year-career, it’s really sad… how little I’ve experienced with more women than men.’
‘It was really nice on this to come on set and be surrounded by women,’ she went on. ‘There was just a different energy about it. And you know, not just women, but really talented women. That’s the other thing that’s always so crazy to me. It’s not that hard to find really talented women in all departments—not just in front of the camera, but behind the camera.’
Female director: He asked Charlize if the shoot felt different than those she was accustomed to, since her co-star, director and three fellow producers were female
Charlize vowed to keep the pressure on the film industry ‘to sustain this kind of storytelling,’ emphasizing that ‘it is really—I almost swore—effin’ awesome.’
She was thrilled the film featured another strong female character named Quynh, who was teased within it as Andy’s ‘right-hand person,’ and could lead the series forward.
‘The two of them were the first [immortals], and there’s obviously a relationship there that we didn’t explore,’ Charlize noted, hoping it could be fleshed out in a sequel.
Pressure: Charlize vowed to keep the pressure on the film industry ‘to sustain this kind of storytelling,’ emphasizing that ‘it is really—I almost swore—effin’ awesome’
Sequel: She was thrilled the film featured another strong female character named Quynh, who was teased within it as Andy’s ‘right-hand person,’ and could lead the series forward
As the interview wrapped up, Seth mentioned the fact that Charlize had shared a publicist with Rihanna, 32, and said he’d recently gone day drinking with the singer.
‘I went home to fall asleep in my foyer, and I got the sense that that wasn’t the last drinking she did,’ Seth said. ‘I got the sense that the most drinking I had done in years was just, like, warm-up stretches for her.’
‘I had the luxury of doing some night drinking with her over in London, and it was some of the best night drinking I’ve ever done in my entire life,’ Charlize agreed.
‘She needs to be in the next Old Guard,’ she added, calling out, ‘RiRi!’
Day drinking: As the interview wrapped up, Seth mentioned the fact that Charlize had shared a publicist with Rihanna, 32, and said he’d recently gone day drinking with the singer
Asleep: ‘I went home to fall asleep in my foyer, and I got the sense that that wasn’t the last drinking she did,’ Seth said. ‘I got the sense that the most drinking I had done in years was just, like, warm-up stretches for her’
Rihanna in the sequel: ‘She needs to be in the next Old Guard,’ she added, calling out, ‘RiRi!’