Charlize Theron did not meet Megyn Kelly before playing her in 'Bombshell'.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron

Charlize portrays the news anchor in the film, which tells the story of how women at Fox News set out to expose CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment but chose not to get together with Megyn before she started shooting the project because she felt as though she knew her from seeing on television.

Speaking to the BBC, she said: "I didn't meet her, by choice.

"Listen, the whole thing is pretty overwhelming. It took me a while to wrap my head around playing her for many reasons. But I think the biggest one is that she's so well known.

"And it's contemporary, it's of this moment, and whether you like her or not, you know her face, you know what she sounds like, and there was really no getting around that."

The 44-year-old actress - who has been nominated for the Best Actress Oscar prize for her performance in the drama - was conflicted about taking on the part as she disagreed with some of Megyn's past comments, such as her defence of people dressing in blackface for Halloween.

Charlize explained: "There are things she's said in the past that have bothered me. But the more I zeroed in on what the film was, (I realised) it wasn't a Megyn Kelly biopic, it's about a year-and-a-half at Fox, and she was a part of many other women who experienced this thing and then ultimately succeeded in doing something that was thought of as impossible.

"And so once I narrowed it down to that, it became easier for me to make it about that, and whether I have issues with her or not, she was part of something that I think will be a historical marker for women's rights."

The 'Monster' star admits that audiences do not have to be experts on Fox News to understand the film, which also stars Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman.

Charlize said: "You don't really need to know anything about Fox. Because this is such a non-partisan... this is not a political film, it's not about Fox per se, really it's just the time and place in the world. This is something which I think is reflected in so many different workplaces."

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