Charlize Theron struggled during filming intimate scenes with Spider-Man actor Tobey Maguire, saying, “Tobey and I had a tough time.”
The Cider House Rules (1999), a classically gorgeous historical drama, served as a springboard for emerging stars like Paul Rudd as well as future Hollywood A-listers like Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron. The love match between Theron and Maguire required a little more thought on the side of the movie’s casting director, even though the trio is front and center in the picture.
In the 1999 movie, the young actors—both rising stars in their own fields—did successfully navigate the plot. Before The Old Guard actor could acknowledge that something in the equation did not seem to fit well, the two protagonists had to conquer their fair share of obstacles along the way.
Charlize Theron and Tobey Maguire in “The Cider House Rules”
The difficulty of filming with Tobey Maguire, according to Charlize Theron
The Cider House Rules’ female lead, Charlize Theron, opens up to V Magazine about a challenge she faced while filming with Tobey Maguire, who played her on-screen love interest, over two decades after the film adaptation of John Irving’s best-selling book was released. The leads were both 22 years old at the time of filming and were only learning how to transition into and out of roles in front of the camera.
The Cider House Rules with Charlize Theron (1999)
Theron reveals that even then, there was something that felt fundamentally missing on their part:
“Tobey and I experienced some difficulty. We’re good now, I guess. It was a challenging movie. The actual power in substitution exists. The fact is, you can’t as an actor solely rely on one approach. Every day is totally unique for a totally unique purpose. You need to be able to switch to anything else if the writing is weak, the weather is bad, or you don’t get along with your castmate. Does it become any more enjoyable? Most likely not. Tobey and I experienced some difficulties for a little period of time.
Years later, she is able to reflect with nostalgia and express admiration for the movie that eventually helped her break into mainstream Hollywood, as well as the actor who stood by her side on the set of the movie when he was attempting to make his own place in the business.
Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron: An Unlikely Friendship
Both actors, who were only 22 years old, showed early signs of the mysterious and sartorial maturity that Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron would later come to be known for in the industry. They had managed to compartmentalize their challenges in favour of the story they had started to tell despite the palpable difference they had to navigate while filming The Cider House Rules.
We had a great time watching the rest of the film. I cherish Tobey. I’m kind of happy that happened throughout the movie. It teaches you several lessons. It showed me that I might fall in love with someone while I was staring at someone else in the mirror. We shared some incredibly private times. I had to come up with a plan B because Tobey and I didn’t share those feelings.
Charlize Theron and Tobey Maguire
In addition to garnering Michael Caine his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2000, the movie went on to win the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. After receiving two additional nominations in 2006 and 2020, Theron went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actress four years later for the movie Monster. Since then, Tobey Maguire has established himself as Spider-Man, most notably in the MCU film No Way Home. The actor’s most recent role is in another historical piece in Damien Chazelle’s varied and lavish movie Babylon.
Source: V Magazine