Charlize Theron Tells 'W' Mag It's 'Cathartic to Play a Character Who is Evil'

Charlize Theron is gorgeous as she graces the cover of W magazine‘s August issue!

The 41-year-old actress was interviewed by Television editor Lynn Hirschberg about her role in the upcoming action thriller Atomic Blonde.

On her Atomic Blonde character being like James Bond: “Lorraine is a little bit like Bond. He drinks a lot of martinis, doesn’t he? Shaken or not stirred, or whatever the fu*k they are. Yeah, Lorraine and James are equally messed up.”

On the fighting scenes in Atomic Blonde: “I grew up taking ballet. I love discipline. I function really well within the parameters of discipline and knowing what to do. For instance, you have to throw yourself into ballet 100 percent, and that was really good for me as a young girl. But other than Teri Hatcher, I had only connected my fist with a girl’s face once in my entire life, so I had to do a lot of training for this film.”

On taking on villainous roles: “Look, I’ve always been fascinated by abhorrent behavior. I have a real interest in why people do horrible things. I read a lot of books and am fascinated by whether deviant behavior is caused by nature or nurture. There’s a part of me that wants to understand that darkness, but I can’t really understand it. So, it is cathartic to play a character who is evil. It’s a free pass for your soul: Nothing bad is going to happen, and you can explore what it would be like to be in that skin.”

For more from Charlize, visit Wmagazine.com!