Entertainment

A Lady Who Loves To Work

By Tatiana Morales

November 7, 2000 / 12:46 PM EST / CBS

She's just 25 years old, but actress Charlize Theron is one busy lady.

Theron co-stars with Matt Damon and Will Smith in The Legend of Bagger Vance, which is coming out now, along with another Theron movie, Men of Honor, whose co-stars include Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr.

That's on top of The Yards, which opened last month, Reindeer Games, which came out in February, and four more films, most of which will hit the theaters next year: Wakin' Up in Reno, Sweet November, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, and Sweet Home Alabama, in which she is starring and producing.

Interviewed by CBS News Early Show Anchor Bryant Gumbel, Theron was asked about the hectic pace, and whether she wants to keep it going at that rate.

"Yes, until I'm about 80," says Theron, who appeared in a dozen other movies from 1996, when she got her first break, to 1999, when she took on the role of a young pregnant woman in the critically-acclaimed The Cider House Rules.

Theron does appreciate her good fortune, and says she's "extremely blessed and very happy."

"It's nice, I think, to have good work when you want to work, and that's what it's been for me," says Theron. "I don't know how that - if that - will continue."

She's enthusiastic about Bagger Vance, a 'what if' story set in the 1930s, about a fictional golfer's match with two real legends. They are Bobby Jones, who occupies that space in the history books shared only by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, and Walter Hagen, the first golfer to cash in on product endorsements, known for his colorful clothing and business smarts.

Theron says Bagger Vance shouldn't be mistaken for a movie that's just about golf.

"It really is a story about redemption (and) forgiveness, personal forgiveness, which I think is something that is nice to see in film," says Theron, adding that it "could have been a movie about any other sport. It really just uses the golf as a metaphor (for life.)"

Based on a best-selling novel by Steven Pressfield, the film was directed by Robert Redford, who previously tackled the sports-as-life theme as the star of the 1984 baseball fantasy The Natural and the director of 1992's A River Runs Through It, which uses fly-fishing to set the stage.

"When you're working with somebody like Robert Redford, you're a little intimidated and you want to be the best you can," says Theron. "The great thing about Bob is that he cuts through the baloney and there's no 'Oh, honey, that was great!' so you're constantly on your toes and I do - I do like that."

"I like it when a director pushes me and never really quite makes me feel that comfortable with the character or the situation," she says.

Theron says she cares about how much money her movies make.

"I'm not going to lie to you, It's really nice when people go and see your movie. I's really, really nice," says Theron. "There's a really gratifying thing that happens when you personally feel happy with it…that you're proud of it, and you think it's a good movie."

FAST FACTS ABOUT CHARLIZE THERON

Born in Benoni, South Africa on Aug. 7, 1975.
Theron grew up on a farm, as the only child. She is fluent in Afrikaans and has succeeded in mastering an American accent.
She was trained as a ballet dancer, beginning at a young age, and went to Milan to pursue a career in modeling as a teenager after winning a contest. But she soon tired of modeling and went back to dancing, which resulted in a move to New York to dance with the Joffrey Ballet.
Before she was 18, a knee injury had ended her dancing career, and her mother encouraged her to try the movie industry.
In 1994, she moved to Los Angeles and 2 weeks later an agent handed her his card; eight months later, she got her first part.
Following a bit part in 1994's Children of the Corn III, she found recognition with Two Days in the Valley, made in 1996. Since then she has become one of the most sought-after actresses working in Hollywood today.
This year, she was listed in People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People."

FILMOGRAPHY

Sweet Home Alabama (2001)
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
Sweet November (2001)
Wakin' Up In Reno (2000)
Legend of Bagger Vance, The (2000)
Men of Honor (2000)
The Yards (2000)
Reindeer Games (2000)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
The Astronaut's Wife (1999)
Mighty Joe Young (1998)
Celebrity (1998)
Hollywood Confidential (1997) (TV)
The Devil's Advocate (1997)
Trial and Error (1997)
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)
That Thing You Do! (1996)
2 Days in the Valley (1996)