Charlize Theron praises her Old Guard 2 co-star Uma Thurman, saying she should have won an Academy Award for Kill Bill. Her first collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction, earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. But Thurman’s Academy-ignored portrayal of The Bride in Tarantino’s epic two-part martial arts action opus Kill Bill was arguably more awards-worthy than her smaller role as Mia Wallace in the director’s 1994 breakthrough.

Count Oscar-winner Theron among those who believe Thurman was snubbed for her Kill Bill performance, after the Old Guard 2 star said the Bride actor should’ve received an Academy Award for her “unbelievable” work in Tarantino’s action classic (via Jimmy Kimmel Live). When asked if she knew Thurman before working together in the upcoming Old Guard sequel (releasing on Netflix July 2), Theron said she was always a fan:

We knew each other kind of offhand. But I knew her from being a mᴀssive fan, just watching her work and always wanted to do something with her. Because when I came into the action world she was really to me the sensei, she was OG. She should have won the Academy Award for Kill Bill.

Theron continued praising Thurman, calling her the one action star she most wanted to work with:

I think men get a lot of credit for these movies and she to me was one of those people. What she did in that film was just so unbelievable and to me she’s just such a badᴀss. Since I’ve been in action movies I’m like, who do I want to work with and do an action sequence with, it’s always been Uma Thurman, always.

Theron wrapped up by relating the experience of working with Thurman, saying she felt genuinely intimidated by her co-star, who at one point demanded an extra weapon for an action scene:

I was scared. I get the sense – and maybe this is just acting – I get the sense that she could really beat a lot of people up. She’s really tall. She’s very intimidating but she’s really sweet and kind and thoughtful and so hardworking. I was definitely intimidated by her, especially when she showed up and she was given one sword and we had worked out this whole sequence and she went “I think I want two swords.”

What This Means For Kill Bill Star Thurman And Fan Theron

Thurman Only Has One Sword In The Old Guard 2 Trailer

The recently-released Old Guard 2 trailer previewed Thurman’s immortal character, who has some kind of beef with Theron and her crew of humanity-protecting heroes. The clip indeed teases a climactic fight between Thurman and Theron, but shows the former armed with just a single sword, while Theron wields a battleaxe.

Perhaps Thurman picks up a second sword at some point in the fight. Or maybe her request for a second sword was turned down, given that her fight with Theron had already been worked out, and re-choreographing it with a second sword would have been too difficult.

Armed with a single katana in her square-off with Theron, Thurman gives heavy Kill Bill vibes. The moment feels like a classic action-movie showdown, one Theron has seemingly been wanting to make happen for a long time. Theron’s remarks show how excited she was to share the screen with Thurman, a star she has tremendous admiration for, even if she was legitimately intimidated by the Kill Bill actor.

Our Take On Theron’s Praise For Thurman

Theron Won Her Own Oscar The Same Year Kill Bill: Volume 1 Was Snubbed

Tarantino’s decision to split Kill Bill into two movies was likely a big culprit in the work being completely snubbed by the Academy. Interestingly, had Thurman been nominated for and won Best Actress for Kill Bill: Volume 1, it would have come at the expense of her great admirer Theron, who claimed the award at the 2004 Oscars for her performance in Monster.

Thurman undoubtedly gave one of the best action-movie performances of all-time in Kill Bill. Unfortunately, the acting in such action-heavy movies seldom receives Oscar recognition, as Theron herself found out when she was snubbed by not getting a nomination for her iconic performance as Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. Old Guard 2 lets these two stars, both unfairly overlooked by the Academy for their best action performances, flash their talent for combative physical acting by going toe-to-toe.

Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live

Kill Bill

Created by

Quentin Tarantino

First Film

Kill Bill

Latest Film

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Cast

Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Julie Dreyfus, Sonny Chiba

Summary

The Kill Bill series, directed by Quentin Tarantino, is a two-part martial arts action saga that follows the journey of Beatrix “The Bride” Kiddo as she seeks vengeance against her former ᴀssᴀssination squad and their leader, Bill, after they attempt to murder her and her unborn child.

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