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This article has been updated to reflect Charlize Therons most recent work.
Youve probably heard the story about how Charlize Theron was discovered.
No problem: Shell reload for hits likeHancock,Mad Max, andThe Fate of the Furious.
Think Theron would rest on her laurels after winning an Oscar relatively early in her career?
Below is our ranking of every Theron performance.
To be clear, were not ranking the movies but merely her role in them.
This was directorJohn Frankenheimers last film, and that hed madeRonintwo years earlier showed that he still had it.
Its about two sick and twisted people playing mind games and calling it love.
Its actually a little worse than that.
She has one scene.
Oh, she alsospeaks Afrikaansat one point.
(Thats pretty much her whole arc.)
She spends most of the movie loudly chewing gum.
39.Trial & Error(1997)
Welcome to the brief moment of Michael Richards, leading man!
Theron is actually funny, but shes still never quite found the right comedy vehicle.
37.That Thing You Do!
She plays Tina, the bored girlfriend of the bands drummer (Tom Everett Scott).
Legend has it that, after casting her, Hanksannounced, Shes got it!
That girl is going to be somebody.
Its hard to tell fromThat Thing You Do!, but you cant argue with the mans instincts.
35.The Curse of the Jade Scorpion(2001)
Is this the worst Woody Allen movie?
Theron was 24 when she made this movie; De Niro was 57.
But you might feel the hefty paycheck thats informing every creative decision.
(And more power to Theronfor fighting for a salary equal to her male co-stars.)
The Oscar-winner doesnt embarrass herself, but you know thatsheknows shes too good for junk like this.
(And, yes, twice in her career, shes played women named Candy.)
But its hardly a revelation, and the film sinks under its own self-worthiness.
The movie is pretty hacky, and Theron only gets to play one note: scared mom.
But seriously,Courtney LoveandKevin Baconas bad guys!
It also features a very, very bad late-career performance from Dennis Hopper.
Still, the movie is good-hearted enough.
This was the second movie Theron produced, afterMonster;shes now regularly a producer, including onAtomic Blonde.
Theron would get this pop in of role right eventually.
You get these three all-time movie stars together, andthisis the movie you make?
Come to think of it, it might be time for another movie about protests and protesters now.
This should be creepier, almost sinister, but director Rand Ravich cant execute on a potentially promising premise.
Well also say that were glad Theron doesnt have to play this sort of Scared Wife role anymore.
The former was one of two Snow White projects that came out that year rememberMirror Mirror?
andHuntsmanwas the far more serious, action-packed entry.
Its the least interesting big movie shes done … until the sequel four years later.
The movies pulp never pops, and the whole thing just feels derivative, even exploitative.
Theron plays a hacker named Cipher, and shes formidable enough that shes a legitimate challenge to our heroes.
But the movie never slows down, so basically you just have to catch her in passing.
The two actresses dont look much alike today, but apparently Arriaga thought they did in 2008.
The movie wasnt a hit, but she was clearly showing she could be a star in anything.
Twenty-one years later, the only reason to even think of this movie is her.
Thats actually reason enough.
First was this studio blockbuster; later in 2003, shed unveilMonster.
The movie might not know much, but it knows to stay out of her way.
And heavens, that whip scene.
But for the film version ofThe Road, directorJohn Hillcoatwisely picked Theron to flesh out the role in flashbacks.
Presidential but also endearingly nerdy, Charlotte is a fun character that Theron turns into a minor comic gem.
We were the only two sad cases who would be outside in the alley, smoking, shelater recalled.
He said, I will write you a script.
So, its the best thing that cigarettes have ever given me.
Theron doesnt steal the movie she supports it, beautifully.
(Dont forget aboutAeon Flux, though audiences sure did at the time.)
(And you should see what Hiro did with the actor playing Bill OReilly.)
But make no mistake: This is anything but an impersonation.
This is a comic book superhero movie with a lot more going on than it looks at first glance.
Theron draws you in, and keeps you hooked.
She might be our choice to save the world after all.
Ostensibly,Young Adultis a comedy, but every laugh gets lodged in the throat.
And on top of all her other skills, Theron proves herself the master of the reaction-shot eye-roll here.
Its a performance thats raw and overwhelming.
But in this case,everyscene was that scene.
Its a tough, unsentimental film thats, somehow, filled with compassion.
When she won the Best Actress Oscar, Theron almost got choked up near the end of her speech.
Quickly regaining her composure, she announced, Im not going to cry.
Lots of people who sawMonsterdid.
