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Charlize Theron’s undeniable gravitas on screen makes her one of Hollywood’s most promising A-list movie stars – although they may be in short supply. Theron made an indelible impression on the moviegoing crowd when she became Aileen Wuornos and walked away with her career’s first Oscar. With time, her accolades and achievements would be many.
![Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos in Monster [Credit: Newmarket Films, Media 8 Entertainment]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/16085350/Charlize-Theron-as-Aileen-Wuornos-in-Monster-Credit-Newmarket-Films-Media-8-Entertainment-1024x576.jpg)
In the 21st-century entertainment business, Theron has not only been influential but exemplary. The South African-born actress makes her presence known through works that are as visually stunning (Mad Max: Fury Road) as they are revolutionary (Bombshell) while also making space for supercharged action films likeAtomic Blondethat raised the bar for the genre.
It hardly comes as a surprise then for a paragon like Jean Smart to be envious of Charlize Theron.
![Jean Smart (R) in Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story [Credit: CBS]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/16084832/Jean-Smart-in-Overkill-The-Aileen-Wuornos-Story-Credit--1024x581.jpg)
Charlize Theron Follows in Jean Smart’s Footsteps
Two legendary actresses, one infamous serial killer – the story almost writes itself. After the Aileen Wuornos case gained notoriety in social circles, Hollywood was quick to snatch it up as one of its many promising projects. Centering around murder, gore, and risqué content, it had all the elements necessary for piquing the audience’s curiosity and attracting a crowd to the theaters.
Jean Smartfirst donned the serial killer persona in a TV movie, a lesser-known media form that hardly gained exposure among the audience of the day. The 1992 crime drama titledOverkill: An Aileen Wuornos Storywas filmed as a docudrama and although it does not serve a fully accurate or even artistically stylized account of the events surrounding Wuornos, the movie did gain a limited sleeper cult following.
Varietylater critiqued:
Smart’s exquisitely drawn portrayal of this tormented woman makes her utterly convincing in her destructive powerlessness, even though its exact cause is never made totally clear.
While the movie does not purport to offer a larger message or moral about this female serial killer, it does offer a fascinating and poignant miniaturist portrait of the troubled lives of Wuornos and her companion Moore.
![Charlize Theron in Monster [Credit: Newmarket Films, Media 8 Entertainment]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/16084923/Charlize-Theron-in-Monster-2003-Credit-Newmarket-Films-Media-8-Entertainment-1024x682.jpg)
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Theron, however, had no such qualms with the retelling of the story a decade later. Her aptly titled film,Monster, hits hard and fast at the central theme of the plot and traces Wuornos’s path as she launches her misguided mission against the opposite sex until her eventual arrest and execution.
Jean Smart Reveals the Source of Her Envy
Jean Smart has secured a place at the upper echelons of Hollywood and there is no cap on the favoritism that is universally directed toward her. The actress is almost reminiscent of the Golden Age of cinema and carries herself with a sense of beauty and authority that is just as rare and reverent today.Charlize Theronnow finds herself as the subject of such a person’s envy, and for good reason, too.
In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, theWatchmenstar revealed that her “pea-green envy of Charlize Theron” originated from the latter’s role inMonsterwhich earned her an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Although both stars portrayed Wuornos in separate projects, Smart bemoaned the lack of creative opportunity that dogged the movie during her time.
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In Smart’s 1992 TV movie, Wuornos’s partner-in-crime is only limited to the role of a good friend, although the film did pit their friendship as the emotional centerpiece of the story. Theron’s 2003 film doesn’t hold back and exposes the full scope of Wuornos’s homosexuality as a central element of the plot, later becoming an important puzzle piece that helps bring closure to the story.
Monsteris streaming on Prime Video.
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2408
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
