By Bonnie Siegler

Even with a slight sore throat, Charlize Theron, looks every inch an A-list movie star. With all the confidence an Academy Award can give you, the former Oscar winner (2004’s “Monster”), enters The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills looking beautiful and statuesque, her designer stilettos only accentuating her 5’ 91/2” height. In a black sleeveless blouse paired with charcoal gray slacks, and blonde hair playfully coiffed revealing platinum hoop earrings with pave diamonds, the South African native known for her risky and unexpected roles (“North Country”, “Aeon Flux”, “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers”), is also a determined activist for her homeland. The story is known, but Theron, with the encouragement and support of her mother, Gerda, left her home in South Africa at age thirteen to attend a boarding school for the Performing Arts. Just three years later, her mom sent Charlize to Milan in the hopes her young daughter’s good looks, confidence and of course, long legs, would propel her into the Italian modeling world. And guess what? Charlize became a sought after model but wasn’t content to rely on just her outward beauty. Moviegoers were first introduced to the seductive charm of Theron in her feature film debut “2 Days in the Valley” opposite James Spader, Eric Stoltz and Jeff Daniels. As her star climbed the Hollywood ladder, other leading men included Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in “Devil’s Advocate”, Tom Hanks in “That Thing You Do”, Tobey Maguire in “The Cider House Rules”, Johnny Depp in “The Astronaut’s Wife”, Robert Redford, Robert DeNiro, Will Smith, Matt Damon plus many more. But her main leading man off-screen is actor Stuart Townsend, her boyfriend and constant companion for over seven years. In fact, the couple love to explore the globe together.

Today, Charlize is poised to talk about her current role as Joleen Reedy in “Sleepwalking”, a downtrodden single mom who needs a place to stay with her 11 year-old daughter after her boyfriend is arrested and she’s forced out of her home. But almost as soon as she arrives at her brother’s (Nick Stahl) modest rental apartment, Joleen hits the road with another man, leaving her ill-equipped brother as sole guardian. Not only does Theron co-star in the drama, but she also signed on to produce the film. Once this happened, the movie quickly attracted an impressive cast of Hollywood heavyweights, including Dennis Hopper as her abusive father. Theron relished the part of this flawed woman, which shared common elements with two memorable characters she has played in recent years – Aileen Wuornos in “Monster” and Josey Aimes in “North Country”.

Why another flawed woman on screen?

I wanted to play Joleen because it’s rare that actresses get a chance to play flawed women. We like to keep our women as mothers and nurturers and rarely do we get to see a woman in conflict…We’re not all suited for motherhood, and I thought this was a great chance to show a woman like that, and not ask for sympathy, but perhaps for empathy – some kind of understanding because I don’t think you can hate her.

Nick and Dennis said you were really a hands-on producer. Was that always your intention? Some people produce and they just take the credit.

I think that’s something that happened around ten years ago; people throwing their names on screen, on credits for vanity, but there’s a few people out there like Drew Barrymore, that I know goes out there and does it. At the end of the day, you really can’t sit around and wonder if people are going to know if you did the job or not. There’s no way I could take a credit if I didn’t feel I did the job. I really like the job, but it’s hard to call it a job. I think it’s just the idea of taking a story band, somehow, servicing it on all levels to try and tell it the best way you possibly can.

How did you like your wardrobe in the film – I mean, it was just one outfit the entire time practically.

I loved it. It felt comfortable and felt very real. There’s no denying putting that on and really feeling like you’re Joleen.

Do you know anyone that’s like Joleen?

I don’t personally, no, but you know, I observe a lot of people. I observe those kinds of people I don’t know personally, but I’ve watched them.

So what did you pull from to play this woman?

You know, it’s an understanding of the world. It’s kind of like going in there and doing the research and really more than anything, understanding what that kind of damage does to somebody and how they retaliate. I mean, I’d done a lot of that kind of research when I played Aileen and Josie Ames. There’s definitely a correlation between those women. It’s interesting when you really study how people kind of deal with a tumultuous past. I mean some kind of turmoil within the family or some kind of an abuse. I think it’s fascinating to study how different people respond to it, so it really kind of came from that…just reading a lot. I’ve read a lot of books on abuse actually. And I guess it’s just not hard for me to understand it. It’s kind of effortless for me. It’s more challenging for me to go execute it, but I understand it very much.

Did you see this as another opportunity to transform yourself again?

No, I’m an actor and I go and do what that job tells me to do. It’s not about transformation. After “Monster”, anytime I have brown hair now, it’s a transformation and like the rope just gets tighter and tighter and tighter so it does get a little bit grueling after awhile to answer this type of question. I think we’ve just lost touch with what actors are supposed to do and I think that’s what’s frustrating because our job is to go and tell stories and that sometimes means we have to transform to be authentic. When you do that now, you’re just a freak and it didn’t used to be the case.

So was it fun to go play in a big budget Hollywood movie like your next one coming out, “Hancock” after doing something like this where you’re emotionally invested in every aspect of it all?

You know what’s strange? It’s not about budget. Until you drive up to the set and see more people and bigger trailers and the food is maybe better, that’s really the only difference because at the end of the day, that material was incredibly challenging. I still don’t know how to talk about it. I just saw this film a few days ago, and had to call Will (director) and said `I don’t know what to say about this movie because it’s going to sound so pretentious but it’s the most original thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

Is that what drew you to the movie in the first place?

After I read the script, it just stayed with me. When I read material, I either tap into something or I don’t. Usually you can tell the next morning when you wake up if you’re still thinking about it, that’s usually a good sign. If something scares you or stays with you, that’s a good sign. I felt it was beautifully written and wasn’t a watered-down version of a dysfunctional family. I thought it was pretty real as far as being authentic towards families out there who are in these situations. And it carried a philosophy that I really believe in and that is, at the end of the day, you have to be responsible for your own life. I like that it had that message towards the end.

AnnaSophia, who plays your daughter, says that she’s turned 13 on the shoot and felt like age isn’t a big thing.

(laughs). Well, it’s not. Take my word for it.

What’s up next for you?

I’m about to go and do “The Road” with Viggo (Mortenson). Just doing the flashback stuff. I’m really looking forward to working with him. I love that project. It’s my favorite book. John Hillcoat is directing.