Charlize Theron learned some things playing Megyn Kelly in a film about Fox News and Roger Ailes' downfall

Charlize Theron plays Megyn Kelly — (Image credit: Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images)

Charlize Theron hasn't met Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News host she is playing in an upcoming film, and that's probably for the best. "I think it's important for us to tell the story from afar, and I think it's hard for me as an actor to have perspective," Theron told Variety at South by Southwest in Austin over the weekend. And she hadn't realized how difficult Kelly's part of the story was until she took on the role.

The untitled movie, directed by Jay Roach, tackles the downfall of Fox News architect Roger Ailes (played by John Lithgow), who died in 2017, about a year after he was ousted from the network following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and several large settlements. Nicole Kidman portrays Gretchen Carlson, whose sexual harassment suit against Ailes helped precipitate his downfall, and Marot Robbie plays a fictionalized Fox News producer.

After Carlson came forward, Kelly disclosed that Ailes had sexually harassed her, too, earlier in her career, and she soon left Fox News for a star-crossed but lucrative stint at NBC's Today. "I didn't know how complicated her situation was, and I think for a lot of people, they didn't understand why she didn't just speak up," Theron said about Kelly. "She was in a complicated place and as a human being, I have empathy for that. I don't think a lot of people truly understood that." The film is slated to come out Dec. 20. You can watch her interview, outside the premier of her political romantic comedy Long Shot, here. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.