Road Warriors, Bombshells and Atomic Blondes: The Action Cinema of Charlize Theron

Abstract

Since the 1990s, Charlize Theron has appeared in films from a wide range of genres but has seen significant financial success from starring in action films, such as Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Atomic Blonde (2017). However, unlike some female action leads, she has not solely been defined or pigeonholed by these roles but has been able to transition between action roles and more ‘respectable’ dramatic roles, as well as the other conventions of female celebrity, such as being the face of advertising campaigns for perfume brands.

Theron has notably received several physical injuries during filming, such as breaking her teeth practising fight choreography during the production of Atomic Blonde. These injuries have frequently been added as part of the publicity campaign for the films and Theron's star image overall as signs of ‘authenticity’, leading these action films a sense of increased legitimacy. Tasker states that a female action star's ‘[public] formulation is indicative of the uncertainties generated by her image’ (1993, p. 14). Media attention is divided between focusing on Theron's physicality, both in the sense of the traditional Hollywood gaze and in terms of Theron's molding of her marketable image. Theron has managed to succeed as both a mainstream star and an action heroine. This has enabled Theron to transition between genres and franchises such as The Fate of The Furious (2017), and an Oscar-nominated dramatic role in the biopic Bombshell (2019).

This chapter will unpack the public persona of Charlize Theron as an action film star, exploring both the filmic texts and the presentation of Theron's often complicated and contradictory image in the media.

Citation

Sweet, T. (2022), "Road Warriors, Bombshells and Atomic Blondes: The Action Cinema of Charlize Theron", Gerrard, S. and Middlemost, R. (Ed.) Gender and Action Films (Emerald Studies in Popular Culture and Gender), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 7-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-514-220221002