Charlize Theron appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to jump start the press tour for “The Old Guard 2,” her upcoming Netflix action sequel. The tentpole finds Theron facing off against one of her action heroes: Uma Thurman.
“We knew each other kind of offhand, but I knew her from being a massive fan, just watching her work, and always wanted to do something with her,” Theron told Kimmel. “Because when I came into the action world, she was really, to me, like, the sensei. She was the OG.”
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Theron is referring to Thurman’s iconic role of The Bride in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill Vol. 1 ” and “Kill Bill Vol. 2.” Theron started pivoting to action movies with the 2005 release of “Æon Flux.” Films like “Hancock,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Atomic Blonde” followed, amon gothers. Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” movies were released in 2003 and 2004, turning Thurman into an icon of the action genre and an inspiration for Theron.
“She should’ve won the Academy Award for ‘Kill Bill,’ right?” Kimmel asked Theron.
“A hundred percent,” Theron answered, adding that it’s usually just “men who get a lot of credit for these [types of] movies. What she did in that film was just so unbelievable.”
Theron said she was “scared” to go head to head against Thurman in “The Old Guard 2,” adding: “She’s just such a badass. So since I’ve been in action movies I’ve been like, ‘Who do I want to work with and do an action sequence with?’ It’s always been Uma Thurman. Always.”
The original “Old Guard,” released in summer 2020, was watched by 72 million households during its first four weeks on Netflix. Theron returns for the sequel alongside original co-stars Kiandra “KiKi” Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Thurman is a new addition alongside Henry Golding.
Watch Theron’s full interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in the video below.
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