Casting Directors Wanted Charlize Theron in Wonder Woman —as Wonder Woman's Mom
Safe to say Charlize Theron is a big deal: Her IMDb history spans from rom-coms like her new movie, Long Shot, to serious dramas like Monster and action hits like Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde—and she's won an Oscar (for Monster) to boot. But some of her recent casting talks aren't what you might have expected: Theron opened up recently about being in talks for a role in the first Wonder Woman—but it wasn't exactly one she'd thought about.
On Watch What Happens Live, Theron said she that casting agents actually wanted Theron to play Wonder Woman's mom. "This is a great of example of how Hollywood slaps you in the face when you start aging,” she explained. “So somebody had said to me, ‘Oh, there’s action on this thing, Wonder Woman—we just want to make you aware of it.’ And I was like, ‘I’m just not familiar with it … I mean, what does Wonder Woman do?’ And this person said, ‘No, it’s for Wonder Woman’s mom.’”
This hypothetical casting scenario makes no sense. At 43, Theron is only nine years older than Gadot, making it far more realistic for them to be sisters than mother and daughter. The role of Hippolyta eventually went to Connie Nielsen (who is 53). “It was the defining moment where I crossed over,” Theron added. “And I wasn’t fully aware of it.”
Needless to say, those talks didn't continue. It's ageism that's based in sexism—as we wrote four years ago, pre-Time's Up and pre-#MeToo, age gaps have long been raising eyebrows in Hollywood, whether they're familial or romantic.
Watch Theron's interview below:
