Charlize Theron Was ‘Conflicted’ And 'Uncomfortable’ Playing Megyn Kelly In 'Bombshell'

Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, and Nicole Kidman all grace the cover of the newest issue of the W magazine. During the interview, Theron opened up about playing Megyn Kelly in the upcoming movie “Bombshell,” based on the 2016 Fox News scandal.

“...I was conflicted about playing her,” Theron admitted. “I personally felt uncomfortable with some of the stuff that she’s said.” Even with Kelly’s controversies, Theron confessed that she “understood her strength and ambition.”

Theron also said that she understands feeling judged and can relate to things people have said about Kelly: “Megyn herself says, ‘I know I’m tough’—and that’s something I’ve heard about myself. People tell Megyn she had sharp elbows, that she was hard. I’ve had people judge me and say the same things about me.”

“Bombshell” is based on real events about when “a group of women decide to take on Fox News head Roger Ailes and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network,” according to the movie’s description on IMDb.

Theron said she enjoys the way the movie portrays the incident. “For women to be betrayed in their workplace by a mentor who is going to make your career possible is very confusing. The water is murky,” Theron told W magazine. “I love the nuance of that in our film: We don’t tell the story of the perfect victims of Fox. We try to tell the story of the messy, emotional dynamics between boss and employee. In 'Bombshell,' our monsters don’t always look like monsters, which is how it is in real life.”

The movie also stars Robbie as Kayla Pospisil and Kidman as Gretchen Carlson. John Lithgow will take on the role of Ailes. Brigette Lundy-Paine, from Netflix’s “Atypical,” will also be in the movie playing Julia Clarke.

“Bombshell” was directed by Jay Roach and written by Charles Randolph. It is set to be released in theaters on Dec. 20.