Charlize Theron knows how to make an entrance—even with a fractured toe. The Oscar winner lit up the stage at Netflix’s 2025 Upfront with both glam and grit, fresh from wrapping production on Apex, the upcoming thriller where she quite literally put her foot down in the wilderness of Australia… and broke it.
“God, I miss early mornings in the wilderness, birds chirping, extremes babbling, and the leaves rustling as a serial killer waits for me,” Theron quipped onstage, never one to let a little injury ruin a good punchline.
“It’s actually a miracle that I’m here today. Apex only wrapped like a week ago, so I’m fresh off the mountain. I still have some Australian dirt under this pretty manicure, and my cute boot is hiding a fractured toe.”
Despite the hidden injury, Theron had only glowing things to say about the experience of filming Apex, a survival-action film directed by Baltasar Kormákur.
“We shot in beautiful locations, deep in gorgeous and stunning rivers in Australia, is no man’s land, literally no like no man’s land,” she said, painting a picture of wild, untamed terrain—ideal for a suspenseful rock-climber-versus-hunter showdown.
Theron didn’t hold back on the action, either.
“I did some stunts and action without awareness,” she admitted with a laugh, teasing that Apex pushed her even further than Old Guard 2.
“Apex gave me the opportunity to outdo the action that I did in Old Guard 2, which is coming out in a couple of weeks.”
But leave it to Charlize to land a comment about us reflecting on near-death experiences.
“But you know, back to me almost dying, I’m really proud to share a little of this mammoth movie that I got to work on,” she said. “And I have to say, I was very lucky to work alongside the very talented Taron Egerton.”
Apex also stars Eric Bana, and with a plot that sees Theron as a rock climber being hunted in the wild, it’s safe to say she’s not exaggerating when she calls it one of her most intense roles yet.
