Charlize Theron

OT: What does a holiday mean to you?
Charlize Theron: Once the promotions for Atomic Blonde get over, I’d love to run off to South Africa with my son and my mom, and not surface for a month. The good thing is that I never take my work home. So I never ‘die for a break’ in a way that some people tend to. When the camera stops rolling, it’s over. My life is more important than the work. It just is. But South Africa is home. I’d love to sail to the country, perhaps because of my irrational fear of flying.

OT: And what would you like to do there?
Charlize Theron: I love road trips and have been contemplating about one for a long time. I would like to park myself at a beach with a few gallons of Long Island iced tea and some fish, maybe. Grilling seafood makes for a pretty holiday dream too.

OT: Do you remember what holidays in South Africa were like before you became famous?
Charlize Theron: Life was one big holiday. There was a drive-in cinema around an hour from our farm in South Africa and, on Friday evenings, my mum Gerda and I would often make the trip. We used to have video marathons too. I still remember cycling to the shop to rent another Betamax tape. Even then, I would prefer serious, adult-oriented films. I grew up on Silkwood and Kramer vs. Kramer.

OT: And what are they like now, now that you are a star?
Charlize Theron: I’d rather just get drunk on good wine—a glass of Laurent-Perrier Rosé, maybe—and talk to people I love. We have a little place in Malibu that becomes like a commune on weekends. But Los Angeles is my adopted city and it has great climate. So sometimes we go for a hike in the Hollywood Hills. And the beach is just 20 minutes away, so we often jump in the car and head to Malibu for the weekend. Sometimes the luxury of doing something simple like the laundry also makes for a therapeutic vacation at home.

OT: What do you recommend tourists do in South Africa?
Charlize Theron: A braai dinner in the wetlands in St Lucia is a must. A braai is South African for barbeque, but a BBQ there is just so much better than a BBQ anywhere else! Go for a safari at the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, visit an ostrich farm and feed some sharks.

OT: Other favourite holiday destinations?
Charlize Theron: Paris for the buzz. Other than that, I am a total beach bum. So anywhere on the sea, I want to see all the beaches of south India too!

OT: What are some places on your bucket list?
Charlize Theron: I want to travel to Mt Kilimanjaro and climb it. Japan also intrigues me, considering I am forever eating at Sushi Park in Los Angeles.