10 Movie Actors With Far More Range Than You Think

For a time, it seemed like Charlize Theron would never be an actress who could truly take on a leading role. Her performance in The Cider House Rules may have been brilliant but, truthfully, so was everyone else's and she failed to stand out from the crowd as much as maybe she would have liked.

A supporting role in the ill-conceived remake of The Italian Job left Theron in a position she would need the performance of a lifetime to change - cue Monster.

Theron showed the world how much she is willing to commit to her art in the biographical drama about serial killer Aileen Wuornos as she shaved off her eyebrows, gained nearly 15kg and meticulously studied the personality disorders Wuornos suffered from to take her performance to the level of embodiment.

Post Monster, things actually fell a little flat for Theron (despite critical acclaim) and lukewarm, big budget sci-fi romps in AEon Flux and Hancock were enough to keep her in the public eye but it would be 2012 before Theron really got to show the world she was more than a one role actress.

Starring roles in Snow White & The Huntsman, Prometheus and Mad Max: Fury Road secured Charlize Theron as a Hollywood mainstay and showcased her phenomenal ability as an actress. Heroes, villains, serial killers, shaved headed Imperators - she can do it all.