Patty Jenkins said that the weight gain and the look came with the character’s journey in the film

Charlize Theron delivered an exceptional portrayal of Aileen Wuornos in the 2003 film Monster. Directed by Patty Jenkins, the movie recounts the chilling true story of the serial killer who took the lives of seven men from 1989 to 1990. Theron went through a drastic physical transformation to portray the character, which included gaining 30 pounds and shaving her eyebrows. Her efforts paid off, as she won the Oscar for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Award.

Monster (2003)
But some individuals still expressed dissatisfaction, going as far as to call the actress at 3:00 AM to let her know that she looked “fat and so ugly” and did not smile enough. However, the director of the film later shared that she never intended to present her in an unflattering light.

Patty Jenkins Did Not Intend to Make Charlize Theron “Fat and Ugly”

During an interview with CNN, Patty Jenkins was asked about Charlize Theron‘s transformation in the 2003 film Monster. Talking about how she embodied the character, she said that the makeup artists had a crucial role in the process.

Charlize Theron as Aileen in Monster

However, they did not simply want to make Theron “fat and ugly” to match Aileen Wuornos’ appearance, rather, the transformation was character-driven. “‘Let’s look at this person, and now let’s make Charlize look fat and ugly and look just like her.’ That wasn’t our process at all,” Jenkins said in the interview.

The Wonder Woman director shared that it was not a conscious decision to make her appear in a certain way. However, it was highly influenced by their research into the character and reflected her journey. “It’s amazing how extreme it ended up being at the end of the day,” she said.

Patty Jenkins on the set of Monster (2003)

The results were remarkable as Theron’s extreme transformation and performance as Aileen Wuornos became significant in her career, establishing her among some of the most versatile and talented actors in the industry. She also won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Monster.

Charlize Theron Refrains From Gaining Weight For Movies

Charlize Theron has shared that she does not plan to take on any roles that require her to gain weight. Along with the 2003 film Monster, the actress also went through a physical transformation to play an exhausted mother of three, in the 2018 film Tully.

Tully (2018)

During an interview with Allure, she shared, “I will never, ever do a movie again and say, ‘Yeah, I’ll gain 40 pounds.” The Fast X actress explained that it’s not easy to lose weight. She shared that things were not that hard when she did it for the 2003 film, as she was 27 at the time.

However, when she did it at 43 for Tully, it took her a year to lose the weight. “I called my doctor and I said, ‘I think I’m dying because I cannot lose this weight,’” she recalled. Theron, who has also portrayed action roles, shared that injuries on a movie set “take way longer to heal” than it did in her 20s. She was last seen in Fast X and is set to reprise her role as Andromache of Scythia in the upcoming sequel to the 2020 film The Old Guard.

Monster is available on Peacock.