Charlize Theron has been an action star for decades. From Mad Max: Fury Road, to Atomic Blonde, to her latest film, The Old Guard 2, fans have been watching Theron kick ass on the big screen for a while, and it truly never gets old. She has a powerful on screen presence, and can carry out stunt choreography in a way that transcends what a lot of other stars are doing. However, being an action star comes with a price, as Theron has sustained several injuries over the years. Now, she’s opening up about why she thinks it was all worth it.
In a recent interview with the New York Times, co-stars Uma Thurman and Charlize Theron opened up about going toe to toe for The Old Guard 2, as well as their sustained action movie careers they have both become known for. While they certainly have displayed superhuman prowess on the big screen, this hasn’t come without a price. Theron revealed that she has had several serious injuries that have come from movies, even some that have required surgery. She said:
I run into people and they’re like, Oh, what happened to your arm? And I’m like, oh, I just had surgery. And they’re like, the last time I saw you, you had surgery! I had an unfortunate injury on the first action attempt I ever did, for a bad movie called ‘Aeon Flux.’ On day nine, I did a back handspring, and I didn’t get enough height, and I landed on my neck on a concrete bridge. I had the last surgery on my neck 18 years ago. I’ve had surgery on both elbows, my right shoulder, my thumb, carpal tunnel, fractures. A lot of fractures.
These are pretty serious injuries, much more than a scratch here and there from a stunt practice gone wrong. Despite these mishaps, it seems like Theron has had no interest in stopping making action movies. She just made one with the release of The Old Guard 2, and has two upcoming action films with Apex, alongside Taron Egerton, and Two for the Money alongside Daniel Craig. This is a sign of true passion, and the Oscar winner even revealed that these injuries she sustained were inevitably good for the film and her characters. She said:
People are like, it’s a movie, what are you doing? But it goes back to what I was saying about telling a story with your body. A lot of times, that’s how you tell the audience who this character is. And I’m also accident prone, so I’m not blaming anybody.
Tom Cruise famously broke his ankle while making Mission: Impossible – Fallout and continued going until they had completed the take. The shot of the injury ended up being the take used in the film. Leonardo DiCaprio also was injured when he cut open his hand during Django: Unchained, which ended up adding even more tension to the scene as he kept going through his speech. It may be controversial, but sometimes these unexpected incidents can bring something to the screen.
Netflix subscription. Fans will also be able to catch her in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which is set to hit theaters on July 17th 2026. For more information on other exciting titles heading to streaming and cinemas in the near future, make sure to consult our 2025 movie release schedule.