Charlize Theron is Proud of Her Career Longevity

Charlize Theron says she has no regrets over the projects she’s starred in or turned down. But when it comes to her career, Charlize says she’s most proud of its longevity.

The 46-year-old Oscar winner made her professional debut in the 1995 direct-to-video horror film Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, and over the ensuing 26 years, she has starred in more than 50 films and been nominated for three Oscars, with her winning for Monster in 2004.

WATCH Charlize Theron thanks South Africa and her mom in Oscar Best Actress acceptance speech

When asked recently what career achievement she feels most proud of, Theron told Elle.com that she’s thankful for her staying power in the industry, despite the continual stream of new talent.

“I would say… my longevity. For every actor that’s probably the most important thing. I always knew that I really liked this job and I really wanted to try and do it for as long as I possibly could,” she shared. “As an actor, your biggest fear is always that with this constant great new turn out of talent that somehow people will forget about you.”

At the beginning of her career, the South Africa-born actress was thrilled to simply be able to survive on her acting salaries, and she has no regrets over the projects she’s starred in or turned down as all those decisions have resulted in a long-lasting career.

“When I was younger, just the idea of supporting myself, solely from acting without a second job to pay the bills, was such a dream! It’s a tricky thing to achieve in this business,” she explained. “I feel proud of the things that I said no to. And I feel proud of the things that I said yes to, it was all in order to build a long career.”

Why Does Charlize Theron speak with an American accent?

Like many expats, Charlize has been treated like a traitor for leaving her country (and it hasn’t been helped by fake news using photoshopped photos of her wearing T-shirts she never wore that incorrectly proclaim she supports certain political parties; or by her calling out certain SA men to treat women better), but often it’s her American accent that annoys South Africans back home the most.

In an interview with SAPeople a few years back, Charlize explained that when she left South Africa she was a young, very Afrikaans teenager. At 16 she had hardly ever spoken English in SA – all her friends and family (and schooling) were Afrikaans, she said… and she became fluent in English by watching TV in the USA.

So she’s more comfortable speaking English in an American accent… but the second she changes to Afrikaans (which she did during the interview) – she has a 100 percent lekker SA accent.

How does Charlize Theron give back to South Africa?

Like many successful expats, Charlize remains concerned about those back home. Through her Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project she supports several organisations working to help those who need it in SA. Here’s her latest video recap of what the Foundation achieved last year.

The Project says: “When the COVID-19 pandemic forced most of the world to stop in 2020, the CTAOP community did not. Our Program Partners continued serving youth and fighting HIV –– while also combatting the havoc COVID wreaked on their communities seemingly overnight. Here’s a look back at the year that changed everything, and the immense impact our Program Partners and community had on those they serve. To support, get involved, or learn more: charlizeafricaoutreach.org/donate”

Sources: Reuters/Cover Media, SAPeople, Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project