Thankfully, Charlize Theron didn't let her nerves keep her from doing Young Adult.
She may have just been nominated for a Golden Globe for her work in the Jason Reitman directed flick, but...
"I was a little scared of it," Theron told me last night at the L.A. premiere of the film.
Why? Because she plays a raging alcoholic.
"There are two things I always think actors find really hard—playing drunk and driving scenes," Theron admitted. "So I was a little trepidatious about it. But Jason was really great at just kind of pulling back and saying 'When you're drunk, you try not to be drunk,' so that was my guideline. I was like, She's a pro, so she doesn't stumble that much."
That's debatable—because she does a lot of stumbling around in the movie. I dare you not to squirm in your seat during her confrontation with the wife (Elizabeth Reaser) of her high school boyfriend (Patrick Wilson).
And then there's one of the most awkward boozy loves scenes I have ever witnessed on the big screen. I won't tell you anymore about that because it's one of those you-gotta-see-it-to-believe-it moments.
Screenwriter Diabo Cody wasn't on the Long Island set during filming because she was back in L.A. with her newborn. "I was in this blissful cozy stage of life, but I'd watch the dailies at night and be like, 'Whoa! She's going for it!' It's not that I hadn't imagined that, but she is so intense and really takes risks. She does not hold back at all."
Also at last night's premiere were Reitman, Reaser, Patton Oswald, Collette Wolfe, Sir Ben Kingsley, J.K. Simmons and Paramount Pictures boss man Brad Grey.