Charlize Theron is set to play Libby Day in Dark Places, the latest movie from the mind of Gillian Flynn, who brought Gone Girl to the world.
Charlize Theron will portray a woman whose mother and two sisters were murdered in the 1980s. Her own brother went to prison for the murders. Libby has grown up certain that her brother Ben was the murderer. But she ends up talking with a group of people who have their doubts.
The film is set in a series of flashes back and forth in time, looking at Ben as a child, Libby’s mom and sisters, and the circumstances around the murders. Libby’s newfound friends are true-crime aficionados. With them she uncovers some factors that lead her to reexamine all that she thought she knew.
Charlize Theron recently revealed that she brought some of her won real-life experience to the role of Libby Day.
In a new interview with French television network TF1 Charlize Theron spoke about the incident she used to prep for the role.
“I did experience a very traumatic experience, an event, in my life. And somehow it’s formed me. My character goes through this ordeal when she’s 8 years old, and it really is examining what trauma does to a child, especially when she’s expected to speak about it. And that’s definitely something I can relate to, that’s definitely something I’ve experienced in my life. As far as events go, they’re very similar. There’s a murder [in the film], while my situation was a very unfortunate incident with self-defense.”
When Charlize Theron was 15 years old, her mother killed her father. Her dad had fired a gun into her bedroom and threatened to kill her. He had been out drinking.
Charlize Theron has said that the incident is a part of who she is, but does not define her.
“I know that if my daughter was in the same situation, I would do the same thing [my mother did]. It’s a part of me, but it doesn’t rule my life.”