The Old Guard 2 with Charlize Theron dropped on Netflix last week. Since it costars Uma Thurman, I watched that and Kill Bill 2 over the weekend. While Old Guard 2 is more heavy on the lore than the action, there were some incredible action sequences. There were a few new cast members this time around, including Thurman and Henry Golding. The NY Times did an interview with action powerhouses Thurman and Theron. They talk about working together, where they draw the line on stunts, and what it’s like doing action sequences now vs. when they were younger. It’s quite delightful, and you can read it in full here. Here are some highlights:

Uma on why she wanted to work with Charlize: “I find Charlize to be very mysterious. I feel like she keeps a tight circle around her. But she’s revered and admired, and her work speaks for itself, so this was a special opportunity. Getting to work with a great actress is a precious thing, and projects are usually not designed to bring multiple heavyweight women together, as Charlize has done with this franchise. Every once in a while you see these great ensembles with, like, seven great actresses, and you always feel bad that you weren’t included! You look at them with, like, hunger.”

Charlize on why she wanted to work with Uma: “I can’t tell you how many people have said to me, you and Uma should do a movie together. I want to see The Bride and Furiosa go at it. Aside from that, I’ve just always loved her as an actor. [Speaking to Uma] One thing everyone says about you is that you play these really strong characters, but that you’re incredibly kind and thoughtful, and that your energy is just really, really good to be around.”

They’re both so over doing water-related stunts:
Thurman: “I’m really, really practical. If there’s not a big enough budget and there’s a bunch of crap underwater, I’m just like, sorry, guys. I’m like, what’s your budget? There’s a bunch of underwater stuff here? No.”
Theron: “I am so with you. I went from like, yeah, I’m a pretty good swimmer, to: never again. I do not want to hear anything about water.”

The one stunt that Charlize will never do: “I have no desire to learn how to fall down a flight of stairs.”

Charlize on stunt performers: “It’s about time we actually recognize those performers, because they are truly part of character building. Without them, there’s a lot of stuff that would never be in a movie that I’m in. I’m never going to know how to fall down a flight of stairs, or jump on a moving vehicle. My adult woman brain is like, No thank you. I’m OK not doing that.”

Charlize on doing action movies while getting older: “I think the hardest thing for me as I’ve gotten older is the recovery. My gauge is usually when I can’t bend down to sit on the toilet. That’s when I know it’s been a rough day. Where you have to hold onto both walls just to get your butt down onto the seat.”

Charlize on trying to get an action movie made with a female lead: “Yeah, it’s harder. That’s known. Action films with female leads don’t get green lit as much as the ones with male leads. I think the thing that always frustrates me is the fact that guys will get a free ride. When women do this and the movie maybe doesn’t hit fully, they don’t necessarily get a chance again. With this, we were very aware that eyes were on us. It’s not a risk that studios want to take, but they’ll take it many times on the same guy who might have a string of action movies that did not do so well.”

Uma’s experience with that big fight scene: “I was told I had at least five days to rehearse, and then we went and met up and they were like, oh, the schedule changed. It’s actually going to be tomorrow. And I was just like, ugh. And they asked, do you want to stay and go over it? I was like, no, no, I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow. There’s nothing I can do in the next two hours that’s going to actually make a really significant difference.”

[From The NY Times]

”My gauge is usually when I can’t bend down to sit on the toilet.” LMAO because I know what she means! I tend to cycle through different types of workouts every three months or so. Those first few days when I switch over are always so difficult. The worst are my “running seasons,” which tend to be the fall and spring. During those first few days, I have to walk down stairs going sideways and sometimes, it hurts to laugh and feels like sitting down to use the restroom is a chore. I know some of y’all know what I’m talking about! It definitely gets worse every year. The struggle is real!

According to Rotten Tomatoes, I am in the minority in liking The Old Guard 2. I hope it doesn’t take five more years for the third movie to come out! Mr. Rosie thought it was too slow and kept doing unsolicited commentary, so I literally kicked him out of the living room and told him to go play video games with his sons, lol. In the interview, Charlize and Uma also talk about what it was like to prep for their big fight scene. When Uma says that she was basically given a day to rehearse for it, she wasn’t kidding. Despite the lack of rehearsal time, they winged it over the next three weeks of shooting. That is so impressive! I bet her Kill Bill training kicked in, just like riding a bicycle.

Photos credit: Getty Images for Netflix