Charlize Theron upset movie executives when she gained weight for 'Monster'.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron

The 44-year-old actress won a string of awards for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the 2003 crime drama but she admitted she felt financiers were expecting a "hot lesbian movie" and there ended up being a "lot of fights" between director Patty Jenkins and the project's backers, which Charlize, in her role as producer, had to mediate.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "I started producing on Monster, and it just happened that I felt the need to protect a first-time director [Patty Jenkins], who was really taking a huge risk. The character was very unusual.

"And initially when we went in to get our financing, it became very clear to me that there was this need for me to step in. Because I think the financiers actually thought they were basically paying for a hot lesbian movie with me and Christina Ricci.

"And knowing what Patty wanted to do with it, I knew that we were going to come up against things. There were a lot of fights.

"As soon as I started gaining weight, I had one of the financiers call me up. Actually, his wife saw me, and she was like, 'Did you see Charlize? Have you seen what she looks like?' And I got that call, like, 'What's going on with that?' "

The 'Long Shot' actress chooses which projects she wants to produce depending on what "scares" her the most and makes her feel "pure panic".

Asked why she chooses to produce, she said: "Pure panic is what makes me stick around. Usually the projects that scare me the most are the ones that just don't leave."

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