The South African actress witnessed how one night in June 1991 her mother, a victim of abuse, ended up shooting her father who was under the influence of alcohol.
Charlize Theron (44 years old) has recalled in an interview what the night in June 1991 was like when her mother, a victim of abuse, had to shoot and kill her father in her own defense.
"My father was so drunk that he shouldn't even have had the strength to walk when he came into the house with a gun," Theron recalled in a conversation with US public radio NPR, published Tuesday.
"My mother and I were in my room leaning over the door from the inside so he couldn't get in. He stepped back and shot through the door three times," added the Oscar winner, who clarified that none of the shells hit them, "which was just a miracle."
To save Theron, who was then 15 years old, her mother Gerda "in self-defense, ended the threat", explained the protagonist of Monster. Her mother left the room and after struggling with him ended up shooting him.
"This type of family violence, which happens within the family itself, is something that I share with many people," Theron stressed, who believes that "the more we talk about these things, the more we realize that we are not alone" and she says she's not "ashamed" to talk about it.
She has described her father as a "very sick" man who had been an "alcoholic all my life". "I only knew him in one way, as an alcoholic," she has stated.
The South African has confessed that it was the unpredictability of living with an addict that has been "recorded" for the rest of her life, "more than just this event that happened one night."
"I think our family was incredibly insane, and all of that I think has scarred us," the actress said.
"Of course, I wish what happened that night had never happened. Unfortunately that's what happens when you don't go to the root of problems," she said.
"It was a pretty desperate situation. Our family was caught up in it. And the daily unpredictability of living with an addict you feel and carry embedded in your body for the rest of your life, more than the event that I suffered that night, "has Theron explained.
The South African actress, who is promoting her film Bombshell, has spoken many times of the admiration she feels for her mother. "She has been the one who has always told me to be brave, I don't know who I could have become without her and without her words. She is an inspiration in my life," she added.
