Charlize Theronis no stranger to the dark side.
I started reading the books with my girls, and they were just over the moon about it.
I’ve never had that experience with them they were just so enthralled, which made me excited."
Helen Sloan SMPSP / NETFLIX
You get me.'"
But it was Washington’s “effortless” way of acting that blew Theron away.
“And she was just so confident and committed.
Helen Sloan SMPSP / NETFLIX
I was intimidated.”
Accordingly, theScandalactress decided to pull from some real-life inspiration to help her ground the character.
“It was so much fun to play extremes against each other.”
Helen Sloan SMPSP / NETFLIX
ButSchoolultimately digs deeper into what it means to be good and evil, rather than sticking to stereotypical definitions.
“It’s pointing at something that’s incredibly needed right now,” Theron says.
There’s safety in trying to label and compartmentalize things, right?
Helen Sloan SMPSP / NETFLIX
It’s about empathy, and understanding that we are not just black and white."
Goodness and evil are much more nuanced than that.
Most of us live somewhere in the gray and have the potential for both good and evil."
“I looked in the mirror and I went, ‘Oh, my God.’
It was a little bit like when Julia Roberts gets the jewelry box inPretty Woman.
I was all giddy.
But I broke two of his walking sticks.”
Theron laughs as she continues: “I kept slamming them into desks and being really mean with them.
Presumably a shop that gets a lot of work from actors tapping into inner rage.
The School for Good and Evilpremieres Oct. 19 on Netflix.
Check out our exclusive sneak peek of the movie in more photos below:
Want more movie news?
