They may have been pitched as trying to 'out-do' each other on the red carpet for their various premieres of Snow White and the Huntsman, but it seems Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart have more in common than would first appear.
To mark the release of their film this week, they posed for some great shots in Interview magazine, and spoke frankly about working with other women, being seen as 'ideal' women, what they think of each other... and Charlize's recent addition to her family.
Here are some titbits below...
On life as a female actress...
Kristen: Sometimes as a woman you have to be a little bit careful about how things come out because people don't really want to listen if it's in a certain emotional tone or too strong.
Charlize: I think we've been served a dish that has just been consistent with the very unconflicted madonna-whore complex of a female character—and it's always shocking to people when a female character goes beyond that and an audience actually connects with it.
On being seen as an 'ideal' woman:
Kristen: I have this weird aversion to people going, "It's a nice, strong female movie. It's really strong. Are you trying to do stuff like that?" I get asked that constantly. Everyone goes, "All the roles you choose—they've all got some sort of gusto." And, really, it's by chance. It's almost like you're kind of discrediting the strength by saying, "Strong girl, strong girl." It's like, "She's just a strong person."
Charlize: Some people are good at performing in front of people like that (live performing), but I'm uncomfortable at it. I think maybe that's the difference between acting and being a performer. I don't think I'm a natural performer.
On each other:
Kristen: She is unlike anyone I've ever encountered. She is one of those people who walks into a room and everyone knows it...
She's a f***ing movie star. It's funny, too, because she always says, 'I'm not really a performer.' But I'm like, 'Yeah, not at all.'
Charlize: I'm a huge Kristen Stewart fan. There's not an ounce of her anatomy that knows how to half-ass anything.
On motherhood:
Charlize: You kind of go through situations that don't work out, and then all of a sudden you have this baby in your hands and you forget about all of that. You forget about the last three years of your life. You just realize that everything unfolded exactly the way it was supposed to unfold . . . Wow, I just went on forever there.
And here are the ladies in action at the London premiere...
Snow White and the Huntsman premiere - 14 May
June/July's Interview magazine is on sale now.
