Charlize Theron Says Her Kids Are Still Not Exactly Sure What She Does for a Living

Charlize Theron
Emma McIntyre/WireImage

Theron is a mom to daughters Jackson 10, and August, 7.

Charlize Theron may be an award-winning actress, but her kids wouldn't know it. In The Hollywood Reporter's latest issue, the cover star revealed that daughters Jackson, 10, and August, 7, still don't know what their mom does for a living.

"In their heads, they’re like, 'We know you work, but we’re not 100 percent sure what you do.' My younger one goes, 'Oh my God, Mom, it feels like you can’t hold a job,'" Theron shared. "And my older one, she’s a pre-teen now, so there are moments, like, we’re walking through an airport and [she sees me on a Dior billboard] and she’s just like, 'Oh my God, you’re on a f**king wall with no shirt, Mom. This is so embarrassing. Put a shirt on!' And I’m like, 'That will pay for your college!'"

"But deep down, like every mother, I just want to f**king impress them," she added.

While many would consider Theron a movie star, she told THR that she wouldn't call herself an enigma.

"I could be wrong, but I don’t think anyone I’ve had business with would say, 'Oh, I don’t know her.' I make it so abundantly clear when I meet somebody, even if it’s a pitch at a streamer for a f**king TV show, that I don’t need to be an enigma. And I think that’s part of the broadness, the let me swear and be self-deprecating -- it’s because I don’t want to waste all this time with you thinking I’m this movie star."

She continued, "Let’s break down all the walls so that we can just get down to business. I just want to get to a f**king place with people as fast as possible where they can be like, 'I don’t think you're right on this,' or, 'You’re making a huge mistake.'"

Despite rejecting that label, Theron, who received the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at THR's Women in Entertainment Event on Wednesday, has several projects in the works where her movie star status will be felt, including her latest role as Clea in the MCU.

"The simple answer to it is that it’s everything that I’ve said about Old Guard. If I can find the anchor, then I’m never going to be a snob about, like, 'Oh, does this make me less of a powerful actor?' I was ignorant, I didn’t know those [Marvel] movies well enough until a family who I consider, like, my adopted family had me watch them," Theron said of her initial resistance to the Marvel world.

"They’re crazy Marvel fans, and I always used to make fun of them. Like, 'Oh my God, you guys are such f**king nerds.' Then one spring break we rented a house and our kids were in a camp and they were like, 'You need to f**king sit down and watch,'" she continued. "So, we watched all the movies, and I was like, 'Oh my God, they’re so f**king good.'" And the kids got in on it, too, and it was such an enjoyable ride."

What's more, Theron said, is that she feels challenged by the role and the ways she can lend her acting chops to reinvent the decades-old character and make it her own.

"And there’s a mythology around it and it’s been thought out over decades with Clea, and I’m challenged by that," Theron added. "Like, how do you reinvent that? So, I’m excited, but I honestly don’t know what the f**k it’s going to be."

For more on Theron and what she's said about the many irons she has in the fire, check out the video below.

RELATED CONTENT: