The actress might be a famous movie star but that doesn't mean she enjoys the spotlight.
In Charlize Theron's new romantic comedy, Long Shot, the celebrated actress stars as Charlotte Field, a dignified diplomat and politician who is campaigning to become president of the United States.
As it turns out, while Theron can play a charismatic, silver-tongued charmer who can captivate a live audience with her oration, the actress herself has no love for public speaking and being in the literal spotlight.
"[I have] a horrible fear, yes, for sure," the 43-year-old Oscar winner told ET at the New York premiere of Long Shot on Tuesday, alongside her co-star, Seth Rogen. "It's probably in the top two [most] horrible things you can ask me to do."
"Well, we won't ask you to do it!" Rogen chimed in, with a laugh.
In Long Shot, Rogen stars as Fred Flarksy, a free-spirited and somewhat immature freelance journalist who used to have a childhood crush on Charlotte when she was his babysitter. Years later, as Charlotte makes a bid for the White House, the two unexpectedly reconnect and she impulsively hires him as her speechwriter, which doesn't sit well with her team of campaign advisers.
The story is a modern romantic take on the tried and true "fish out of water" story, and Rogen said it's been in the works for quite a while as they wanted to make sure the film fulfilled everything it set out to be.
"We wanted it to be really romantic and really funny," Rogen said. "We wanted to make good on both those promises."
Famously, Rogen has always had a lot of ad-libbing and improv in aspects of his films -- from The 40-Year-Old Virgin to Knocked Up and The Is The End -- but with Long Shot, the stars said they enjoyed comedic freedom but worked to service their well-crafted script.
"My brain is mush compared to what it was even several films ago. So I rely heavily on people, on writers, to come up with stuff," Rogen quipped.
"I do think that there's a misconception that, with comedians like this, you're just like, just going free willy-nilly, and it's not necessarily how you make these movies," Theron added. "It's actually very structured. [And] very well written."
Their upcoming comedy, Long Shot, hits theaters May 3.
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