Some people give off good vibes. Charlize Theron is some people. According to a Harper’s Bazaar cover story, the South African actor and producer’s 25 years in Hollywood haven’t left her jaded or friendless. Instead, the people in her corner sing her praises, and, in return, she books Michael Bolton to perform at their surprise Vegas-themed birthday parties, is easy to work with, and comforts them during hard times. “She’s not just a great actress but a great leader,†says Uma Thurman, who is starring alongside her in The Old Guard 2, on Theron’s producing career. “I think she’s gone further and taken far more control in that arena than I ever did,†Thurman says. “So all I can do is say ‘hats off.’†Seth Rogen, who played the Atomic Blonde actor’s love interest in the (underrated) rom-com Long Shot, describes her as a good collaborator and a good time. “She’s not one of those actors who you think, Oh, they seem this way, and they’re this way. She is who she seems,†he says. His phrase just did numbers to the brains of everyone who has a parasocial relationship with Theron — hearing she is as she appears amounts to catnip for those afflicted.
A friend and colleague who actually knows the actor (unlike all of us parasocial peeps) says that she was the only person who could make him laugh after his dad, Ivan, died. “After my father passed, all my friends came over to my house, and she’s the one who was passing out the drinks. Honestly, she was the one who really got me laughing again,†Tully director David Reitman recounts. “There’s an essential goodness to her, and I think it’s the reason people love watching her on screen no matter who she plays.†Plus, she’s an “extraordinary hang,†he says. If Harper’s Bazaar is a Theron-has-good-vibes propaganda vehicle, then they’re doing an excellent job.