Model-turned-actress Charlize Theron has been upending the tired cliché about models-turned-actresses for two decades now, having won an Oscar a full 16 years ago, and for a performance that’s not even one of her finest turns. That was for Monster, in which she transformed herself into serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who looked nothing like her. Turns out that was nothing compared to what she did for the forthcoming Fox News exposé Bombshell.
The trailer for the docudrama dropped on Wednesday, offering the first look at Theron as the disgraced TV anchor, who departed her cartoonishly sweet NBC gig after defending blackface on morning network television. The movie isn’t about that; it’s about her days at Fox News, when she and others — including Nicole Kidman’s Gretchen Carlson and Margot Robbie’s Kayla Pospisil — were sexually harassed and assaulted by demonic Fox News honcho Roger Ailes, played by John Lithgow.
Anyway, the thing most people can’t stop talking about is how Theron looks exactly like Megyn Kelly.
Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly. I feel unnerved. pic.twitter.com/R7JWMVydCQ
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) August 21, 2019
And it truly is unnerving. It looks less like makeup and prosthetics and more like Theron’s face was digitally transformed into the former Fox News personality who publicly and angrily insisted Santa is white, among many other things.
Theron is a great and versatile actress, and you can already tell from the trailer that she nails Kelly’s pinched, quietly agitated body language. But for some she looks a little too much like the journalist we may never hear from again (until Fox News takes her back).
A lot of people were disturbed and/or shocked.
Charlize Theron’s transformation into Megyn Kelly is the craziest metamorphosis since that time Kelly tried to turn Jesus into a white man. pic.twitter.com/Kbeil7LwIY
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) August 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/TheRyanMacLean/status/1164211780668624896
https://twitter.com/80sgarfield/status/1164212034080247808
https://twitter.com/ConnorBehrens/status/1164210238402301954
Are we sure that’s Charlize Theron?
— g (@azorohio) August 21, 2019
charlize theron and megyn kelly pic.twitter.com/NeB1yGR6tx
— bkr (@bkrewind) August 21, 2019
People were also impressed. The prosthetics, if that’s what they were, were singled out for praise.
Holy shit. Can we talk about the makeup and prosthetics perfection that is Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly in Bombshells? pic.twitter.com/6BFZwzwtC9
— Jeff Zhang 张佶润 (@strangeharbors) August 21, 2019
And of course, Theron herself was held up for esteem.
https://twitter.com/RafiDAngelo/status/1164248931049660416
https://twitter.com/RafiDAngelo/status/1164249588057956352
People are acting like Charlize Theron isn’t one of our very best chameleons, but I’ll allow it if it’s such gasping praise.
— Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil) August 21, 2019
When Charlize Theron was asked to play Megyn Kelly pic.twitter.com/mw0lgl7zLU
— Mike Mazda (@mnissan22) August 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/chastaen/status/1164214383356104704
Judge for yourself by watching the trailer below.