Charlize Theron is speaking out about the challenges of making female-led action movies in Hollywood.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, the action film veteran expressed her frustration with the industry's double standards.
"It's harder" to get action-packed pictures with female leads made, Theron said. "That's known. 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 added.
Theron pointed out that when women star in action movies and the film doesn't perform well, they often don't get another chance.
"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," she said.
Despite the challenges, Theron 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 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."