'Black Panther' Had a Cathartic Effect on Charlize Theron

Dec 04 2018

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Charlize Theron’s emotional connection with “Black Panther” goes far deeper than the typical Marvel fan. During Variety‘s Actors on Actors series, the actress spoke to how the film tapped into the anger and guilt she felt from her childhood growing up under South African apartheid. With tears coming to her eyes, she said the film provided her with a sense of catharsis that also extended toward her daughters who she said she can’t wait to share the film with. Theron also praised “Black Panther” for going beyond “whether you’re from Africa or whether you’re African American” and showcasing a diverse cast of powerful, black women. “That movie broke so many glass ceilings across the board,” she says. “Not just the fact that there are women in power and that they’re black, beautiful, strong African-American women, African women…and that my children are going to benefit from that, but that I got something very cathartic out of that.”