“I had another surgery to put a metal screw”: Charlize Theron’s Intensive Training for John Wick Director Went So Hard it Left a Lasting Damage on Her Body

Charlize Theron sustained permanent injuries collaborating with the John Wick director in ‘Atomic Blonde.’

Charlize Theron proved to be a fine action star appearing in Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, and several other remarkable action-packed films. But doing action movies is not always easy, and Theron has endured the nightmarish effects of it on her body and mind.
Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde
Still, there is no stopping for the actor. She puts herself up to every challenge possible despite the inherent cons attached to it. On-set injuries are not new to the actor as she was almost paralyzed after a neck injury after filming a scene in the 2005 Karyn Kusama-directed sci-fi action flick, Æon Flux. But she sustained permanent damage to her body after working in a film by the John Wick director.

Charlize Theron Sustained Permanent Injuries On Set

Charlize Theron in an action scene in Atomic Blonde.
Most actors go through intense physical training and hard work for action movies. Charlize Theron has endured more than one, from sustaining a shoulder injury while filming Netflix action fantasy The Old Guard (per Looper) to the torn stomach muscle injury filming Snow White and The Huntsman, she has suffered a lot for her love and dedication towards cinema.

The South African star sustained one permanent injury working with John Wick director David Leitch, who directed the first installment of the John Wick franchise alongside Chad Stahelski.

As she revealed while chatting with Variety, the actor has suffered intense physical injuries including a twisted knee, and bruised ribs while filming Leitch’s Atomic Blonde. The actor also had extensive dental surgery following her stunt practice. “It happened the first month of training,” Theron told the outlet.

“I had severe tooth pain, which I never had in my entire life. Having to cut one of the teeth out and root canals. It was tough. You want to be in your best fighting shape, and it’s hard. I had the removal and I had to put a donor bone in there to heal until I came back, and then I had another surgery to put a metal screw in there.”

The Oscar winner pushing her limits for movie roles is really commendable. The actor forged her career with such remarkable roles and it is unlikely that she will stop doing intense action movies anytime soon as Theron is set to appear in Netflix’s The Old Guard 2.

David Leitch On Directing Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde
Of course, Theron was not new to the genre as she had worked in a few action movies before Atomic Blonde, but the 2017 acclaimed spy action thriller really took a toll on her. “It’s always driven by the actors’ aptitude, and skill set, for action,” Leitch said in a chat with Yahoo Entertainment about actors working in action movies. But Theron, Leitch said, was very committed to her role in the movie.

“It was a lot of training — 3-4 months probably, four days a week, 3-4 hours a day. Very consistent training, coming into our workshop 87Eleven and getting in front of the stunt team and getting your ass kicked. That’s just kudos to her for having the will and the determination to go through that process.”

The collaboration between the actor-director duo was marvelous. Fans and critics acknowledged the prowess of the movie as it was certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 79% score. Also, the movie went on to gross close to $100 million worldwide (per The Numbers) against a production budget of  $30 million.