Charlize Theron Says She's Lost Roles for Being Too 'Pretty'

The Oscar winner says she has played down her looks to compete for some roles.

ByABC News
April 6, 2016, 11:37 AM

— -- Consider it the unseen price of beauty: Charlize Theron says she's lost out on jobs for being too "pretty."

"Jobs with real gravitas go to people that are physically right for them and that’s the end of the story. How many roles are out there for the gorgeous, f------, gown-wearing eight-foot model? When meaty roles come through, I’ve been in the room and pretty people get turned away first," the South African beauty told British GQ.

In fact, the actress has played down her looks in order to compete for serious roles, like serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster," in which she put on 30 pounds and wore prosthetics. The result: Theron won the 2004 Academy Award for best actress.

She earned a second nod for her role as a gritty iron miner in "North Country." And for 2015's "Mad Max: Fury Road," she buzzed her hair off and wore a prosthetic arm.

Now 40, Theron said she also has to be concerned with aging.

"We live in a society where women wilt and men age like fine wine. And, for a long time, women accepted it. We were waiting for society to change, but now we’re taking leadership," Theron told GQ. "It would be a lie to say there is less worry for women as they get older than there is for men. ... It feels there’s this unrealistic standard of what a woman is supposed to look like when she’s over 40."