© 2026 ABC News

\"We were always scattered in this real newsroom, and so I think for a second she just couldn't put it together that it could be me,\" Theron said. \"It was chaotic the way we shot it,\" adding that director Jay Roach embraced capturing a majority of the movie in 360 degree angles.

\"The prosthetic work, the makeup and the hair in this film is really top notch,\" Theron said.

She said the \"the devil's in the details\" when it came to bringing to life the parts of Kelly to make the role authentic.

Join the conversation that has the whole country buzzing. #BombshellMovie is now playing in NY & LA, coming to theaters everywhere next Friday. pic.twitter.com/SnJv85zBEW

— Bombshell (@bombshellmovie) December 15, 2019

\"It's a combination of trying to understand as best as I could where she came from, why she sounds the way, why she holds herself the way she holds herself and its just research,\" Theron explained. \"You just have to kind of sit down and read as much as you can, watch as much as you can, listen to as much as you can and pray to the movie gods that when you show up on that first day that you're not trying to manufacture something, that it's under your skin already.\"

The real life former Fox News personality broke her silence about the movie over the weekend, saying, \"Watching this picture was an incredibly emotional experience for me, and for those with whom I saw it. Sexual harassment is pervasive in this country; it can leave scars that do not heal.\"

Kelly also said that she \"only got her first look at the film once it was past the point of any possible edits, though there are certainly some I would have made.\"

Oh, what a night ✨ #BombshellMovie pic.twitter.com/bYCE3NJrJP

— Charlize Theron (@CharlizeAfrica) December 11, 2019

In order to make sense of the \"overwhelming\" and at times nuanced Megyn Kelly story, Theron said she tried to think of it as a \"compartmentalized moment.\"

\"The more we just really focused on that year and a half, it became easier to tap into that story and what was happening there,\" the actress said.

\"PHOTO:
Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/SMPSP via Lionsgate
PHOTO: Charlize Theron stars as Megyn Kelly in the movie "Bombshell."
>

She continued, \"I didn't fully understand the consequences that a lot of these women were facing. But I think everybody had a really complicated set of circumstances to deal with in order to get to that place.\"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bombshell Movie (@bombshellmovie) on Dec 9, 2019 at 7:03am PST

Roger Ailes, who died in 2017, was forced to resign in 2016 after Carlson accused him of sexual harassment in a lawsuit. Other women at Fox News, including Kelly, said Ailes sexually harassed them during his tenure at the cable news channel.

\"Bombshell\" also stars John Lithgow as Roger Ailes, Connie Britton as Beth Ailes, Allison Janney and Kate McKinnon.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/bombshell-star-charlize-theron-explains-transformed-megyn-kelly/story?id=67751591","legacySlug":"/culture/story/bombshell-star-charlize-theron-explains-transformed-megyn-kelly-67751591","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"14:48","publishDate":"12-16-2019","updatedTime":"13:28","updatedDate":"12-17-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"Charlize Theron stars as Megyn Kelly in the movie \"Bombshell.\"","credit":"Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/SMPSP via Lionsgate","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/bombshell-movie1-ht-ml-191216_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"12/16/2019 14:48:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":67751591,"headline":"Charlize Theron talks 'Bombshell' transformation","mediaAssetTitle":"CHARLIZE THERON GMA","description":"The actress described the nuance and research it took to take on her role.","duration":"6:22","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/12/191216_gma_theron_830_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["65103814","67751477","133852807"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"August 21, 2019","headline":"Theron, Kidman are unrecognizable in trailer for new Fox News film","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/charlize-theron-nicole-kidman-unrecognizable-megyn-kelly-gretchen-65103814","id":65103814,"image":{"alt":"Theron, Kidman are unrecognizable in trailer for new Fox News film","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/bombshell-01-as-ht-290821_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Lionsgate Movies/YouTube","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"December 16, 2019","headline":"Charlize Theron reacts to Megyn Kelly's take on 'Bombshell'","section":"culture","slug":"/video/67751477","id":67751477,"image":{"alt":"Charlize Theron reacts to Megyn Kelly's take on 'Bombshell'","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/191216_gma_theron2_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 14, 2026","headline":"Little League umpire gets the call of a lifetime","section":"news","slug":"/video/133852807","id":133852807,"image":{"alt":"Little League umpire gets the call of a lifetime","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/WNT/260613_wn_ender_umpire2_hpMain_1x1_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Charlize Theron talks 'Bombshell' transformation","description":"The actress described the nuance and research it took to take on her role.","duration":"6:22","uploadDate":"12-16-2019","publication":"12-16-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/12/191216_gma_theron_830_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/12/191216_gma_theron_830_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/bombshell-star-charlize-theron-explains-transformed-megyn-kelly-67751591"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Charlize Theron talks 'Bombshell' transformation","pubTime":"09:48","pubDate":"12-16-2019","modTime":"08:28","modDate":"12-17-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":67751591,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Charlize Theron talks 'Bombshell' transformation","mediaAssetTitle":"CHARLIZE THERON GMA","videoId":67751591,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/bombshell-star-charlize-theron-explains-transformed-megyn-kelly-67751591"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/67751591","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/67751591","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};