Charlize Theron is calling out Hollywood studios for not wanting to take a “risk” when it comes to female-led action movies.
The action film veteran recently opened up about Hollywood double standards during an interview with The New York Times, saying, “It’s harder” to get action-packed pics with female leads made.
“That’s known,” Theron said. “Action films with female leads don’t get greenlit as much as the ones with male leads. I think the thing that always frustrates me is the fact that guys will get a free ride.”
She continued, “When women do this and the movie maybe doesn’t hit fully, they don’t necessarily get a chance again. With this, we were very aware that eyes were on us. It’s not a risk that studios want to take, but they’ll take it many times on the same guy who might have a string of action movies that did not do so well.”
The Oscar winner has starred in several action films throughout her career, including Æon Flux, Atomic Blonde, The Italian Job, The Old Guard, Mad Max: Fury Road and multiple Fast & Furious franchise installments. She most recently reprised her role as Andy in The Old Guard 2.
Theron also explained why she loves doing action films, despite being “accident-prone” on set, leading to “a lot of fractures” and multiple surgeries over the years.
“I love dance, but I would never have been able to go back and be a dancer again, right?” she said. “Action movies gave me this opportunity to be physical again, to be a storyteller with my body.”