Charlize Theron Thinks Uma Thurman Deserved an Oscar for Kill Bill ArticlePure

Charlize Theron had a major fangirl moment working with Uma Thurman on The Old Guard 2.

While visiting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, May 8, Theron, 49, reflected on finally getting to share the screen with Thurman, 55 for the upcoming action sequel.

“We knew each other kind of offhand, but I knew her from being a massive fan, just watching her work, and always wanted to do something with her,” said Theron. “Because when I came into the action world, she was really, to me, like, the sensei. She was the OG.”

“She should’ve won the Academy Award for Kill Bill, right?” said host Jimmy Kimmel of Thurman.

“A hundred percent,” agreed Theron.

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Theron, who is herself an Oscar winner, went on to say that she believes “men get a lot of credit for these [types of] movies.”

“What she did in that film was just so unbelievable,” she added of 2003’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1, which was followed by a sequel, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, the next year.

Despite being “scared” to star opposite Thurman in The Old Guard 2, “She’s just such a badass,” Theron continued. “So since I’ve been in action movies I’ve been like, ‘Who do I want to work with and do an action sequence with?’ It’s always been Uma Thurman. Always.”

The Mad Max: Fury Road actress also told Kimmel, 57, that Thurman is “really tall” and “very intimidating” in stature and presence — but underneath that, “She’s really sweet and kind and thoughtful, and so hardworking.”

“But I was definitely intimidated by her, especially when she showed up and she was given one sword and we had worked out this whole sequence and she went, ‘I think I want two swords,’ ” Theron recalled.

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Directed by Victoria Mahoney (taking over behind the camera from The Old Guard‘s Gina Prince-Bythewood), The Old Guard 2 reunites Theron’s Andy with KiKi Layne’s Nile, Marwan Kenzari’s Joe, Luca Marinelli’s Nicky, Matthias Schoenaerts’ Booker, Vân Veronica Ngô’s Qu?nh and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Copley. Thurman and Henry Golding are among the new cast.

The first movie follows Andy and her centuries-old crew welcoming a newly minted immortal, Layne’s U.S. Marine Nile, to their ranks. The new movie again sees powerful foes who have caught onto their undying tricks, looking to capitalize on that power.

A synopsis for The Old Guard 2 teases that “Andy and her team of immortal warriors are back, with a renewed sense of purpose in their mission to protect the world.”

“With Booker still in exile after his betrayal and Quynh out for revenge after escaping her underwater prison, Andy grapples with her newfound mortality as a mysterious threat emerges that could jeopardize everything she’s worked towards for thousands of years,” it adds.

The Old Guard 2 is on Netflix July 2.