Charlize Theron: I Don't Understand Fascination With Hello Kitty

USMagazine, Thursday, December 15, 2011, 4:01pm (PST)

Charlize Theron can't relate to her peers.

During The New York Times' TimesTalk panel in NYC Friday, the 36-year-old actress said she prepared for her role in Young Adult by exploring the oddities of women her age.

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"I'm pretty amazed by Hello Kitty. I see so many women in their 30s walking around in Hello Kitty sh-t and nobody is concerned for them," Theron said. "It's the one iconic teenage symbol that seems okay for women in their 30s? The world seems to not have an issue with it."

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Realizing such women were quite similar to her character, Theron "said to the costume director, 'Get me some Hello Kitty T-shirts.' Those were my demands."

All kidding aside, Theron believes "women are just as messed up" as men, which is what made her role in Young Adult so fun.

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"I'm really glad I got to play this character and that it's being appreciated," said Theron, who "grew up on '70s films with Gene Hackman, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman."

"It's such a luxury to be able to do a film that you want to do," the Oscar winner added.

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