What is the best Charlize Theron performance?

From the transformative Oscar-winning turn as a serial killer to unstoppable action icons and darkly comic disasters of vanity — she has never played it safe. Which role is the definitive Charlize Theron?

1

Monster

A 2003 drama in which Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her physically and emotionally transformative portrayal of real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

2

Young Adult

A 2011 Jason Reitman film in which Theron gives a fearless, darkly comedic performance as a narcissistic, alcoholic YA novelist who returns to her hometown to reclaim her high-school sweetheart.

3

Mad Max: Fury Road

A 2015 George Miller epic in which Theron's fierce, one-armed warrior Imperator Furiosa became an instant icon of action cinema, arguably outshining the title character.

4

Tully

A 2018 Diablo Cody drama in which Theron gained 50 pounds and delivered one of her most vulnerable performances as an exhausted mother who bonds with her night nanny.

5

Bombshell

A 2019 drama in which Theron earned an Oscar nomination for her uncanny physical and vocal transformation into Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly during the Roger Ailes scandal.

6

North Country

A 2005 drama in which Theron earned an Oscar nomination playing a single mother who leads the first major sexual harassment class-action lawsuit in US history.

7

Atomic Blonde

A 2017 action thriller in which Theron commands the screen as a lethal MI6 agent navigating Cold War Berlin, performing much of her own stuntwork.

8

The Devil's Advocate

A 1997 thriller in which Theron delivers a deeply unsettling performance as a woman slowly unraveling under supernatural influence while her husband is drawn into a demonic law firm.

9

The Old Guard

A 2020 Netflix action fantasy in which Theron anchors the film as an ancient near-immortal warrior leading a covert team of mercenaries.

10

Snow White and the Huntsman

A 2012 fantasy in which Theron steals the film entirely as the vain, ruthless Evil Queen, delivering a theatrically grand yet genuinely menacing villain performance.

11

The Cider House Rules

A 1999 John Irving adaptation in which Theron brings warmth and complexity as a young woman who falls for an orphanage-raised doctor's apprentice.

12

The Italian Job

A 2003 heist thriller in which Theron proves her action-star credentials as a professional safe-cracker joining a crew to avenge her father's murder.

13

The Burning Plain

A 2008 drama in which Theron won the Golden Lion at Venice playing a woman haunted by the consequences of a tragic affair, with a restrained and emotionally intricate performance.

14

Long Shot

A 2019 romantic comedy in which Theron showcases her underutilized gift for comedy as a polished US Secretary of State who falls for her childhood friend.

15

Prometheus

A 2012 Ridley Scott sci-fi film in which Theron brings icy authority to the role of a Weyland Corporation executive overseeing a deep-space expedition.