Charlize Theron is switching gears from hardcore violent action to heartwarming family-friendly laughs, reprising her role as Morticia Addams in the new Halloween-themed children’s film, Addams Family 2.
Though Theron’s name mainly rings bells of brutal fight scenes, the Oscar-winning actress was glad to have the opportunity to make a film she could take her young children to see for a change.
“I felt very lucky to be asked to be a part of this,” she said of the animated family comedy. “I definitely do not get to share a lot of my work with my kids. They’ll probably be in their late 50’s before they get to see anything [else] that I’ve done.”
Theron is a mother to two adoptive daughters, 9-year-old Jackson and 5-year-old August, both Black children. As a white South African woman, Theron says she realizes that she will not have all the answers when it comes to raising little Black girls, but isn’t afraid to ask for them along the way.
“I have a real acknowledgment, as we all do as parents – we know where we lack and we know where we are rich. And this is maybe not where I am,” she admits. However, she is sure to keep a knowledgeable network around her that can fill in her gaps in knowledge and know-how to help her children take pride in their appearance.
“I am so grateful to the incredible village of strong Black women in my life who I can pick up a phone to, or come over to my house and they’ll tell me: ‘You need to stop doing this,’ or ‘these baby hairs are breaking off. What are you doing?’” she shared. “So they put me in my place, and because of them I feel this great confidence in raising my girls.”
As for the issues of Black girlhood beyond hair care, Theron says she keeps an open mind and ear and listens for her daughters’ guidance on what is necessary.
“I try to have consistent conversation so that it doesn’t feel like we just talk about things where there’s too much importance underlying where they get freaked out,” she said of broaching identity topics with her children. “I find that for them, it’s easier for them to just share and talk about these things. I’m also looking to them, right? They need examples, so I’m trying to create that for them.”
Check out more of Theron’s interview above, and catch Addams Family 2 in theaters and VOD now.