Charlize Theron - Brief Article - Interview

Interview, May, 2000 by Brendan Lemon

SHE'S LIT UP PAREE (HOLLYWOOD, TOO), BUT THIS IN-DEMAND ACTRESS'S EVER-BOLD SPIRIT SPRINGS RIGHT FROM THE FARM

BRENDEN LEMON: Drum roll, please. In the center ring we have Ms. Charlize Theron and her two cocker spaniels. Ms. Theron, could you introduce us to your companions, please.

CHARLIZE THERON: Well, Mr. Ringmaster, the blonde one is Denver, and the black one is Delilah. They're eight months apart. He's five; she will be five in July.

BL: Since Denver has a plum role in your summer movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance [August, DreamWorks], it's only fair that Delilah is the star of Interview's photos. I hope he won't mind. Have you had them both since they were pups?

CT: I've had Delilah since she was three weeks old and Denver when he was three months.

BL: Where were you living when they came into your life?

CT: It all started when I moved into my first real home, here in Los Angeles. A friend and I decided to get this little two-bedroom house which was completely out of our budgets. It had a little yard. Before we bought any furniture, and while we were literally sleeping on the floor, I saw an ad for unwanted puppies. They were cocker spaniels. So I went to pick Denver up, and he was the first piece of furniture in the house. [laughs]

BL: We won't tell him that you said he was furniture. If he's like my dog, I'm sure he thinks he owns the furniture.

CT: Of course. Anyway, he slept on the floor with me. I knew from that moment I was going to stay in Los Angeles for a really long time.

BL: It was probably good that you didn't have any furniture when he was a pup, so he didn't have all kinds of stuff to gnaw on.

CT: But he was the easiest dog to raise. When Delilah came into the picture, I thought, Denver was so easy, another one will be too. And of course Delilah was the complete opposite: a total nightmare. [laughs] She's the problem child in the house, but we love her dearly.

BL: Did she bond right away with Denver?

CT: It took him a day or two to realize that she wasn't a toy, wasn't an intruder, and wasn't taking over his role as protector of the house. He would actually lie with her on the floor, and she would suckle on his hair, on his golden ears. That's why I called her Delilah--it was as if she were sucking on Samson's locks.

BL: I've always thought that the great thing about animal companions is the way they restore you to your own animal self.

CT: Right. For me, it has been particularly helpful to have them around between camera set-ups--for example, when we were in the South for four months last year doing The Legend of Bagger Vance. After every setup I would walk with them through the woods. It gives me so much pleasure to see them enjoy life. I'm from South Africa, and I'm used to having dogs grow up free.

BL: You grew up on a farm, didn't you?

CT: Yes. So it's important for me that my dogs get a little bit of countryside.

BL: Tell me about Denver's role in The Legend of Bagger Vance.

CT: He has a big scene with me, which he did tremendously well.

BL: I assume Denver wasn't formally trained--no Stella Adler or Sanford Meisner acting workshops for him--so how did he nail that scene so brilliantly?

CT: I don't know, but it was perfect. My character is a Savannah socialite, the type who would have a house dog. Denver's big moment was when he had to react to a gunshot. He stayed in frame, looked at the exact place I did, and then came and hid behind my legs, just like a dog would.

BL: Could you be in a relationship with someone who wasn't an animal person?

CT: It would be impossible. I will go so far as to say that I don't think I could be friends or even acquaintances with somebody who admitted to me "I hate animals." I can't relate to that feeling at all.

BL: I know your dogs have been with you during the movie you just filmed, Wakin' Up in Reno.

CT: Well, I hope so, since much of it was shot in L.A., where I live. But we also went to Reno, which was kind of funny. We stayed in a hotel that had a casino in the lobby, so you had to walk through the gaming area to get outside. At the beginning the dogs were very confused.

BL: What's the Reno movie about, by the way? Gambling?

CT: It's me and Billy Bob Thornton and Natasha Richardson and Patrick Swayze. We play two couples from Arkansas who are best friends. We decide to take a vacation trip to Reno together. It's a comedy, but with real-life issues.

BL: To a lot of moviegoers, your looks are a throwback to an earlier Hollywood age, one of full-out glamour. But are you tired of being cast in period parts?

CT: Well, I'm about to spend the spring in San Francisco, doing Sweet November with Keanu Reeves, which is a beautiful contemporary love story. So I'm not always looking for a certain genre or period or anything like that.

BL: Let's go back to your dogs. What is the primary image you have of each of them?

CT: I think of Delilah as a goddess. She sits on a chair as if she were Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra mode. Denver reminds me of a Disney animal cartoon. And he was just born to snuggle. He snuggles better than any man I've ever been with.