“It was very insulting”: Charlize Theron reveals that producers of The Italian Job tried to get her to give six more weeks of driving training than her male co-stars
- Charlize Theron appeared in the 2003 remake of the original 1969 film
- The 44-year-old South African star received driving training before his role
- She told Comic-Con @ Home that she was outraged when she had to do additional training.
- She said she was very proud of the way she performed stunts during the movie.
Charlize Theron said producers in the remake of The Italian Job tried to force her to do six more weeks of car training than her co-stars.
The Oscar-winning actress appeared in the 2003 robbery film alongside a cast that included Edward Norton, Jason Statham and Mark Wahlberg, whom Theron says he vomited after an intense behind-the-wheel session.
Like the original 1969 classic starring Sir Michael Caine, the cars largely appeared in the remake of The Italian Job, and the stars did their own driving.
Charlize Theron, pictured, said she was told to take a six-week driving course before starring in the remake of The Italian Job.
Charlize, portrayed on the set of the 2003 film, said: “ Italian work was a great experience, in the sense that I realized there were still so many misconceptions about women in the genre, although in that film the action is really based on the cars’
The South African star spoke on a Comic-Con @ Home panel about his career in action cinema. She said: ‘We had to physically do a lot of those things. The only good thing that came out of that experience was that there was real pressure to perform those stunts with the actors.
During a Comic-Con @ Home panel looking back on her career as an action movie star, Theron said she was insulted when she realized that the producers had her far less trained behind the wheel than their male co-stars.
She said, “ Without a doubt, The Italian Job was a great experience, in the sense that I realized there were still a lot of misconceptions about women in the genre, despite the fact that in that movie the action really is based in the cars.
‘We had to physically do a lot of those things. The only good thing that came out of that experience was that there was real pressure to pull off those stunts with the actors.
‘And that was the first time I experienced something like that. But, there was a very unfair process that went with that. I was the only woman with a bunch of guys and I remember vividly receiving the schedule in our pre-production and had six more weeks of in-car training scheduled for me than any of the guys.
‘And it was so insulting. But it was also what put a real fire under my butt. And I was like “well, do you want to play this game? Come on.” And I set out to get all those guys out. ”
Theron said she was proud of the way she drove in the film, saying that intense behind-the-wheel training sessions led Hollywood leader Wahlberg to stop and vomit.
After completing a particularly impressive hack, Theron said, “It was a great time to feel like ‘yes, we can do all of that.’ And women are so unfairly thought of or treated when it comes to gender. ‘
Theron said she was proud of her driving in the film, and claimed that intense behind-the-wheel training sessions led Hollywood leader Wahlberg to stop and vomit.
Theron, a 44-year-old South African native, spoke about her broader career during the panel, reflecting on how Hollywood had changed since entering the industry.
She won her Academy Award for Best Actress for a portrayal of a serial killer on Monster in 2003 and then made the action film Aeon Flux, which was a critical and commercial failure.
However, Theron, whose latest movie The Old Guard has proven to be a hit on Netflix, said the perception of female action stars has changed since then.
She added: ‘The good news now is that we have changed the gender of women. I think there is great evidence that we now know that you can no longer hide behind ignorance. The public loves these movies. ‘
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