LOS ANGELES, California?The statuesque, long-legged Charlize Theron glided into the room in an IRO sleeveless mini dress, her curly blonde bob hair framing her beautiful face and carrying a Hollywood actress? best accessory these days?her pet dog.

The blue-eyed, award-winning actress is blooming. Voted last year as Esquire?s ?Sexiest Woman Alive,? Theron epitomizes the glamour of old Hollywood.

That afternoon, the South African-turned-naturalized American citizen was talking to journalists about her new movie, ?Hancock,? an action-comedy where she portrays Mary Embrey, the wife of publicist Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman, ?Juno?), and starring Will Smith as the reluctant superhero, John Hancock.

Directed by Peter Berg, ?Hancock? is the story of a lazy, alcoholic, hard-living superhero. He has fallen out of favor with the public and tries to repair his image by hiring his own publicist. But he enters into a relationship with the PR professional?s wife.

Theron, who was not afraid to look plain and downright unglamorous as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in her Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning performance in ?Monster,? is also barely made-up for her role as the publicist?s wife in ?Hancock.?

?I don?t even think of it as looking bad,? Theron explained her simple look. ?I think it?s just looking authentic. I want to feel authentic as an actor. I would feel so uncomfortable if I did not fit into that world.?

Despite her ultra feminine looks and ways, Theron, 32, is known in the entertainment circle as an actress who can hold her own among the boys. ?I have a penis,? she quipped. ?I joke with the rest of them. We all know each other. I worked with Will eight years ago on the Robert Redford film ?The Legend of Bagger Vance? and with Jason on ?Arrested Development.? We go to the same award shows. We all kind of came together but we felt like we were together for years.?

Asked if she ever read comic books, Theron replied: ?I didn?t grow up with that genre. I did not have brothers. I grew up on a farm in Benoni, South Africa so I did not really read comic books or anything like that. I had to discover it in the later years.?

Kiss and tell

Since the journalists were only shown 40 minutes of the film, we inquired whether she got to kiss Will Smith.

Theron smiled and said, ?You should ask Will if he got to kiss me!?

Then she teased, ?I might die at the end. We bang and then I die. So the studio (execs) said, ?Yes, that is a great idea. Give them another 50 million dollars to shoot that. Let me see if Will is happy with that.??

Of superhero films, Charlize said: ?I think it?s a genre that?s loved and completely respected. In this movie, they shake and dirty it up a little bit to make it interesting. Coming from someone who did not grow up with comics and superheroes, I like this a lot. I like the human qualities of Hancock. He?s lonely; he?s an alcoholic; and he likes to grab girls? asses.?

Theron admitted that she enjoys doing comedies now.

On her beauty secret, she disclosed: ?There is no mystery. You have to eat healthy; you have to drink water. If you are happy in your life, it shows... You cannot go through your life worrying so much because it will get in the way.?

Very much at home

Now that she is based in Los Angeles, does she consider it her present home? ?I have lived half of my life in South Africa and half here in LA,? she replied. ?I feel very much at home here. I like it here. That is the biggest reason I wanted to become a citizen. I also have a very clear opinion about how I feel in America. And the war. I speak out because I am patriotic. I?m excited to be able to vote for someone who can change our country and the world.?

An outspoken Barack Obama supporter, Theron revealed: ?I think everyone knows I am backing him up because he?s incredible. I am not going to vote for a woman just because she is a woman. I doubt Hilary (Clinton) would want me to vote for her just because she?s a woman.?

She continued, ?I think people are always so shocked when actors speak out. My political views came out within the last 15 years. What has happened in the last 100 years is very important than what has happened in the last eight years. I am very comfortable with talking about that stuff. I love history in general.?

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