Charlize Theron Details ‘Apex’ Injuries, Surgery & What Made Her 'Tap Out'! (Exclusive)

Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton are dishing on their new action-thriller “Apex,” which follows a grieving woman (Theron) whose wilderness survival journey turns into a deadly chase by a ruthless predator (Egerton). 

“Extra’s” Terri Seymour spoke with Charlize, who detailed the multiple injuries she suffered during filming.

She shared, “I had two surgeries on my right arm. I had an ulnar nerve that wasn’t set in the right place after this film and I fixed that. I had some intercostal tears on my ribs. I had a fractured toe.”

Theron revealed that “an inner ear infection” is what made her tap out, saying, “It was like the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Despite all the pain, Theron noted, “I don’t even think about those things when I think about this movie.”

Charlize described her character as “crazy,” due to her love of danger. She explained, “She wants to punish herself. I think what she does in nature is a version of punishing herself. I think she goes to Australia because she hasn’t quite resolved this pain of losing her husband and I think the only way she knows how to deal with that is to kind of put her body through severe pain.”

“I really like a challenge, I don’t want to like punish my body, but I guess I do,” Charlize laughed. “Maybe I’m in denial. Okay, I need to go do some work on this.”

When asked if her life experience has prepared her for roles like this, Theron answered, “I think dance taught me real grit… I think as a dancer, the discipline that you have to have and excruciating pain… it’s something that really benefited me in action films. I don’t tap out very easily."

Taron also dished on his training and diet for the movie, cheekily noting, "I do get a bit naked in this movie."

Theron chimed in, “Way to sell a film, guys! And does he! Oh, oh, oh!"

Taron elaborated, "Like three weeks before that, I was, you know, you eat not quite enough and then everything [shrinks] and by the time you come to shoot that scene, you have to keep sitting down because you’re so depleted and tired.”

Charlize revealed that they did try to relax after some cold water scenes, saying, “They had these, like, tiny little individual hot tubs for us and they would put them right next to each other, and at the end of the scene, we would like run and jump into our little hot tubs and we would have a snack together, and we'd be like, 'Look at us, just lying in nature.'"

Taron noted that the tubs were filled with “filthy river water," quipping, "It's not like, we're not getting in and it's like, 'Wow, this is amazing. We're at a spa.'"

Years before working together, Charlize and Taron met at a Golden Globes after-party with Phoebe Waller-Bridge. 

When this project came up, they “met up here in L.A. and hung out for a few hours."