Theron is The Evil Queen in Universal Pictures’s Snow White & the Huntsman
 
  Theron as Mavis Gary in Young Adult

After a now-fabled discovery that sounds almost perfectly scripted (a talent agent spotted the towering young Theron while she was quarreling with a bank teller during a visit to LA), the actress swiftly made a name for herself in Hollywood, culminating in her famously transformative, Oscar-winning turn playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003’s Monster. She followed that up with a string of trophy-worthy performances, and at this stage in her career, she embraces a sense of gratitude for the admittedly rare chances to dig as deep as she has. “You could have an outline of what you want your career to be, and if you don’t have the opportunities to really deliver on that, you’re stuck in the same place,” she says. “I’ve always been very, very aware of the fact I only have the career I have today because of the opportunities—first and foremost.”

And yet she gives her personal work ethic due credit. “There’s great tenacity when I tackle something, and I don’t half-ass anything. When I work, I work really, really hard. And I think that—combined with people who believe in me— has been really a great blessing,” says Theron. “You choose the life you want for yourself, and then you just shut up and go about it. That’s how I’ve lived my life.”

Post-Young Adult, Theron has gotten back to business with a vengeance. Next summer’s Prometheus is a sci-fi epic initially conceived by producer/director Ridley Scott as an Alien prequel before re-tweaking it as its own franchise- promising property. “I think every actor has that one iconic director who sets a genre he or she wants to work with, and for me that’s Ridley Scott,” says Theron. “When he called and asked if I wanted to do this, and he was willing to develop the role a little bit with me, I was really excited. I think people are going to be pleased with where he went with this. [Scott] is just one of those people [for whom] you go, ‘For sure, you are doing what you’re supposed to do on this earth.’”

Debuting almost simultaneously is Snow White & the Huntsman, which finds Theron playing The Evil Queen to Kristen Stewart’s dwarf-friendly fairy-tale heroine. “This has been a great sandbox to play in— huge sets and great costumes, and yet very grounded material,” she says, offering a tip of the crown to the inspiration behind her take on the beauty-obsessed monarch. “There was definitely something [about the character] that always reminded me of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I played with the idea of that cabin fever, being stuck in a castle, and slowly losing your mind, your obsessions eating you up, and becoming capable of doing something you didn’t necessarily think you would be capable of.”

Even with such high-profile roles at hand (the Mad Max film is a go again, too), Theron still wonders about her career longevity now that she, too, is no longer a young adult. “I don’t know if I feel I’m here to stay,” she says, “but that’s a good thing. That keeps you on your toes. I think this is an industry where you can’t get too comfortable. It’s constantly churning with great talent, and you’ve got to raise the bar and try to push yourself. I don’t ever want to kind of feel, Yeah, I’m here. I made it. I think that would probably be the time to retire. I don’t ever want to get comfortable with anything.”