Her Young Adult character does despicable things, but Charlize Theron still likes her

BY CINDY PEARLMAN December 1, 2011 6:46PM

An author (Charlize Theron) comes home to reclaim her married ex in Young Adult.

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Updated: December 4, 2011 6:59PM

NEW YORK Charlize Theron is one of the most in-your-face actresses in the business.

On a cold fall morning in New York, shes discussingthe role of the proverbial bad girl.

We come from a society where everyone is still comfortable to label women as either the madonna or the whore, Theron says. Were either really good hookers or were really good mothers. But were nothing in between.

In Young Adult, opening Friday, Theron plays divorced, unhappy Mavis Gary, an author of young adult novels who decides to bring her famous self back to her small, Minnesota hometown to reunite with her high school boyfriend.

But her ex, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson), is happily married, the father of a newborn baby girl and he has no idea of her intentions.

People are calling the character an alcoholic, husband-stealing narcissist, and Theron is sick of it.

I think its very easy to look at someone and just throw a label on them, she says. Theyre a b---- or theyre crazy. I think thats a copout.

The 36-year-old adds, I dont like sympathy on screen. I dont like it for myself, either.

When you ask for sympathy in life, its like youre victimizing yourself, she explains. Id rather be someone and play someone who just says, This is my own s--- and I have to deal with it.

Her character in Young Adult is dealing with plenty. Partly thats due to the mind of writer Diablo! Cody, w ho reunites with her Juno directing partner Jason Reitman.

Theron is quick to add that she isnt condoning her characters actions in this film.

Im not someone who justifies bad behavior, Theron says. I just dont have a lot of empathy for putting a tag on someone.

Ask what she thinks about a woman who plans to wreck a young family and she doesnt miss a beat.

Oh, the things that shes doing in this film are despicable, but the funny thing is I was never disgusted by her, Theron insists. I never had a hard time with her. I never thought, You know, I dont really like you.

In fact, Id love to have a beer with this character, she says and then adds with a laugh, But I would never ever let her hang out with my boyfriend.

Theron figures it a different way.

I like playing characters who suck all the air out of the room. This woman is an air-sucker, she says. But its in a funny way that made her fascinating.

She and Reitman spent little time analyzing the character.

We didnt even talk about if shes crazy or needs help. Its obvious shes absolutely delusional, but I didnt want to focus on should she do two hours a week of therapy or four hours. I didnt want to ask, What meds should she be on? She was just a beautiful car wreck, and there is no cure, she says with a grin.

Theron was looking to team up with Diablo Cody, the Lemont native who won an Oscar for writing Juno.

What I really liked about Diablos script was the idea of a woman dealing with very common mid-to-late 30s issues, she says. You get to this age, and you wonder about what youre doing with your life.

In the movie, unfortunately, I deal with the topic of visiting my ex the way a 16-year-old would deal with it. Mavis says, Dont you know that love will conquer all? Thats a very adolescent view of love, Theron says.

She herself recently had a close encounter with an old love.

In high school, I wasnt popular. I was obsessed with ballet and wore nerdy glasses. I was as blind a! s blind could be, she says.

Meanwhile, I had a massive crush on this guy. In fact, a journalist from Vogue recently interviewed me and found this guy. He told the reporter, Yeah, the crush was mutual.

It was so not mutual, she recalls. He even said, What I remember is she wore these thick glasses.

Theron had some tormentors while growing up in South Africa.

I had a lot of mean-girl moments directed against me, she says. Thats because I was pretty much a mess.

There was a really popular girl in my school, and I was obsessed with her. Like, you could go to jail for it today. I was in tears one day because I couldnt sit by her. I have issues, OK?

Its funny how a few decades changes things.

A few weeks ago, I was at a fitting in London, she says. This girl goes, Hey, I know you. Youre Sharlene.

It was that girl. My obsession! And nothing had changed. She didnt even know my real name!

Theron won a best actress Oscar playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003) and was nominated for the 2005 drama North Country. Her other film credits include The Italian Job (2003), In the Valley of Elah (2007), Hancock (2008) and The Road (2009).

In her spare time, Theron works for a healthier Africa with her Africa Outreach Project.

Its about prevention and care, she says. You see how prevalent AIDS and HIV is there and the horrible neglect for the people who have no tools to understand how not to become HIV-positive. We support prevention and care.

Her next role is playing the evil Queen Ravenna in Snow White & the Huntsman, opening next summer.

She says people are afraid of strong women on the screen, which is amazing. I grew up on cinema where the guys got to be dark. I loved the characters that Hackman and De Niro got to play.

I saw in myself the struggles and the lurking darkness.

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