Charlize Theron has been nominated for many awards for her portrayal of Megyn Kelly in Bombshell, though she revealed that her kids aren’t impressed with the nominations when she stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday.
“It’s been a thrilling couple of weeks. I was nominated for a Golden Globe. I was nominated for a Critics’ Choice,” she said. After the audience applauded, she said they should continue with their enthusiasm because her children did not care.
After stating that she didn’t win either of those awards, Theron explained that her kids were “a mixture of super sad and angry.” She continued, “They were upset. The little one was like, ‘Well, I really wanted you to win.'” The actress added that 8-year-old Jackson experienced “pure disappointment.”
“When the Oscar nominations came in, it was the third time that they were like … now they’re suspicious. They’re just like, ‘Will you win this time?'” she recalled. “I said, ‘You know, listen, there’s a good shot I’m not gonna win.’ And my oldest just went, ‘Well, this sounds like a waste of time.'”
Later in the appearance, Theron revealed how working with dialect coach Carla Meyer helped her perfect her portrayal of Kelly.
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“There should be an Oscar category for dialect coaches because it’s not an easy thing for me to do, and she helped me to kind of understand why Megyn sounds the way that she does,” said Theron. She added that the roots of Kelly’s dialect are “complicated” and that it took them “a very, very long time to figure it out.”
Theron added that she thought she wouldn’t be able to nail the impression for about six weeks.
“I have this dog, who is kind of like my dog husband. He’s always just right next to me. His name is Berkley, and he’s a rescue,” she said. “Where I am, that’s where he is.”
But after sitting with Theron for “hundreds of hours trying to get this sound right,” Berkley eventually lost interest. “He’s committed in this relationship with me, and so six weeks into it, I got a little panicked. I was like, ‘I don’t think this is gonna happen.’ And then I did this kind of monologue, and I gave it a real shot and out of nowhere Berkley, who’s just been asleep for six weeks by my feet, went (raises chin and makes surprised face). He had this look on his face like, ‘Why are you sounding like that? You’re not my mom.'”
She said that moment with Berkley is when she knew she perfected it. “That’s when I was like, ‘Oh shit. I think we’re there,'” said Theron.
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Watch Theron’s full appearance below.
