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Los Angeles - Charlize Theron is planning to bring her baby son Jackson to South Africa for a visit – and there’s a good chance it will be as soon as this month.
The Benoni-born, Oscar-winning actress is having an incredible 2012.
She has released three films already and in March she became a mother.
It doesn't end there: She is due to start filming the much-awaited follow-up to Mad Max, Fury Road in Namibia and South Africa this month.
Before that, Theron has two films coming out – Snow White and the Huntsman opened this weekend and Prometheus opens in SA cinemas on 8 June.
In her new spin on the classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarves fairytale starring Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth, Theron plays the evil queen.
She relished the role.
Like Mavis in Young Adult – another recent role of hers – the queen Theron plays is obsessed with youth.
Ageing seems to be an issue Theron is comfortable with, though the actress admits that after seeing herself in the mirror with make-up and prosthetics to make her look older, she was taken aback.
"They were authentically ageing my face, so there is a moment where you go, 'Oh my God! Really?' I took a picture and sent it to my mum," she says, giggling.
“But you have to put your ego aside. I don’t want to waste my time thinking about things I can’t change; things that are inevitable.”
Working in Hollywood, where image and looks are common currency, Theron says she tries not to let it all get to her.
"I think the media can be harsh about this kind of stuff," she says.
"There’s this idea that if you become an actor you have given away your integrity and dignity, that you've signed a deal with the devil saying that anybody can just be as harsh and as unsympathetic as they want to be."
'I've had seven facelifts!'
Addressing rumours that she's had plastic surgery, the 36-year-old laughs.
"I've apparently had seven facelifts. Do you know how hard it is to have one of those? I've apparently had seven!” she says.
"Ageing, no matter who you are, scares us. It's about facing our mortality. It's not just the vanity of ageing. When we get old our body starts shutting down and we become aware that we're going to die. Oh my gosh, I need a drink!"
When it comes to her personal life, Theron says she feels a lot like her character in Snow White.
"My hands are chopped off, kind of like Ravenna. It's not easy for me and so I try to live peacefully with all this stuff. I was raised to be private.
There's this misconception about actors and performers that you want all that attention. I am good with small groups – anything bigger and I break out in hives and get shy. I don't really like having my life out there for everybody."
Worldwide headlines
Theron's life has indeed been "out there" recently – her adoption of baby Jackson, when he was nine days old, made headlines worldwide.
The adoption took two years to finalise.
"When you become a mother it becomes worse," says Theron of her need to keep her personal life private.
"You become incredibly protective and I'm trying to balance it all in the best way and the healthiest way I know how. It's a very personal thing, and it's not something I want to throw on the front page of a magazine, so when he is older, (Jackson) goes, 'What?!'"
She cannot say too much about her next project, but the Mad Max reboot, starring Tom Hardy, has been in the making for almost a decade.
"They would kill me if I went into any detail," she says. "There's a CIA agent with a sniper gun around the corner, just waiting," she jokes.
The project was due to start filming on 2 June, and the location – Namibia and South Africa – is perfect because Theron has been itching to introduce her son to her home country.
The Benoni-born, Oscar-winning actress is having an incredible 2012.
She has released three films already and in March she became a mother.
It doesn't end there: She is due to start filming the much-awaited follow-up to Mad Max, Fury Road in Namibia and South Africa this month.
Before that, Theron has two films coming out – Snow White and the Huntsman opened this weekend and Prometheus opens in SA cinemas on 8 June.
In her new spin on the classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarves fairytale starring Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth, Theron plays the evil queen.
She relished the role.
Like Mavis in Young Adult – another recent role of hers – the queen Theron plays is obsessed with youth.
Ageing seems to be an issue Theron is comfortable with, though the actress admits that after seeing herself in the mirror with make-up and prosthetics to make her look older, she was taken aback.
"They were authentically ageing my face, so there is a moment where you go, 'Oh my God! Really?' I took a picture and sent it to my mum," she says, giggling.
“But you have to put your ego aside. I don’t want to waste my time thinking about things I can’t change; things that are inevitable.”
Working in Hollywood, where image and looks are common currency, Theron says she tries not to let it all get to her.
"I think the media can be harsh about this kind of stuff," she says.
"There’s this idea that if you become an actor you have given away your integrity and dignity, that you've signed a deal with the devil saying that anybody can just be as harsh and as unsympathetic as they want to be."
'I've had seven facelifts!'
Addressing rumours that she's had plastic surgery, the 36-year-old laughs.
"I've apparently had seven facelifts. Do you know how hard it is to have one of those? I've apparently had seven!” she says.
"Ageing, no matter who you are, scares us. It's about facing our mortality. It's not just the vanity of ageing. When we get old our body starts shutting down and we become aware that we're going to die. Oh my gosh, I need a drink!"
When it comes to her personal life, Theron says she feels a lot like her character in Snow White.
"My hands are chopped off, kind of like Ravenna. It's not easy for me and so I try to live peacefully with all this stuff. I was raised to be private.
There's this misconception about actors and performers that you want all that attention. I am good with small groups – anything bigger and I break out in hives and get shy. I don't really like having my life out there for everybody."
Worldwide headlines
Theron's life has indeed been "out there" recently – her adoption of baby Jackson, when he was nine days old, made headlines worldwide.
The adoption took two years to finalise.
"When you become a mother it becomes worse," says Theron of her need to keep her personal life private.
"You become incredibly protective and I'm trying to balance it all in the best way and the healthiest way I know how. It's a very personal thing, and it's not something I want to throw on the front page of a magazine, so when he is older, (Jackson) goes, 'What?!'"
She cannot say too much about her next project, but the Mad Max reboot, starring Tom Hardy, has been in the making for almost a decade.
"They would kill me if I went into any detail," she says. "There's a CIA agent with a sniper gun around the corner, just waiting," she jokes.
The project was due to start filming on 2 June, and the location – Namibia and South Africa – is perfect because Theron has been itching to introduce her son to her home country.
