How Charlize Theron became one of Hollywood’s most astonishing action stars

As the Oscar-winning actor’s latest action movie arrives on Netflix, Geoffrey Macnab speaks to her acting coach to delve into how she became the ‘astonishing’ star she is today

Theron in ‘The Old Guard’ (Netflix)

In a summer bereft of superhero movies, Charlize Theron’s latest feature The Old Guard, which she produced as well as starred in, is expected to reach at least 72 million households in the next four weeks. That’s one of the highest ever numbers for a film on Netflix. The success underlines Theron’s status as one of Hollywood’s most bankable female action stars, both at the box office and, while most cinemas remain closed, on video on demand too.

Theron plays Andromache (“call me Andy”), a warrior who leads “a group of immortals”. For centuries, they’ve been living in the shadows, fighting for what is right.

“She is able to do something I’ve never quite managed to do and that is to tell narrative through physicality,” Theron’s co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor recently told GQ. He spoke admiringly of the “exquisite poetry” in seeing Theron wield a four-foot axe. “To put all the nuance of a character into a very complex fight sequence using only choreography is quite astonishing.”