Charlize Theron speaks out to explain why female action stars don’t get second chances

'It's not a very forgiving genre when it comes to women.’

Charlize Theron is one of the most talked-about women in the world, one of the reasons being that she refuses to stay silent about uncomfortable subjects.

Yes, from Hollywood sexism and ageing to the gender pay gap, Charlize speaks out about the topics that others avoid, with this week being no exception.

During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Charlize opened up about being a female action star, and how it doesn’t entitle you to the same rights as your male counterparts.

In Charlize’s words, ‘female action stars don’t get second chances’.

Speaking out about how fortunately was an exception, Charlize explained how she was grateful to have gotten a second change, cast as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road after her first action film, Æon Flux, did not do as well as expected.

‘A lot of women don’t get a second chance, but when men make these movies and fail miserably, they get chance after chance after chance to go and explore that again,’ Charlize explained. ‘That doesn’t necessarily happen for women.’

She continued: ‘Fury Road came a good decade after Æon Flux, and there's always been that voice in the back of my head that still somewhat responds to that. I'm still influenced by that, and it's one thing that drives me. It's unfortunate that we feel like the opportunity will be taken away from us in a heartbeat if we don't succeed, but that is the truth. It's not a very forgiving genre when it comes to women.’

This needs to change.