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Charlize Theron on beauty: 'We can celebrate every age'

The Academy Award-winning movie star gets candid about aging, her early crush on Tom Hanks and her role in the "Mad Max" reboot.
/ Source: TODAY

In a new interview with W magazine, Charlize Theron says her attitude toward aging has changed for the better.

“I think, like many women, I was judgmental toward women as they aged,” the Academy Award winner told the magazine, which profiled her for the May edition’s cover story.

“Women, in our society, are compartmentalized so that we start to feel like we’re cut flowers and after a while we will wilt. I realize now that’s not the case—we can celebrate every age. That’s my encouragement to 20-year-olds who are terrified of getting older: Don’t have a nervous breakdown and don’t hit the Chardonnay too hard. Getting older is not that bad.”

Charlize Theron in W Magazine
In a recent interview with W magazine, Charlize Theron discussed her role in \"Mad Max: Fury Road,\" aging, and her early crush on Tom Hanks.Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott / W Magazine

In fact, the 39-year-old actress appears to have embraced a perspective that comes with age, as evidenced by the advice she’d give her 20-year-old self.

“I would say, ‘Calm down,’” she said. “I was always in a rush. I felt like time was going to run out. Now that I’m older, I know I’m not missing out on anything. Now, I go home, and that feels really good. When I hit 30, I realized I didn’t have to please everybody. I could actually enjoy life, which is not a bad thing at all.”

Other interview highlights range from an early celebrity crush to a dance she performed at the 2013 Oscars ceremony.

  • On her early crush on Tom Hanks: “I loved him without knowing his name. He was that guy with the dog shaking its drool all over the place in 'Turner & Hooch.' I loved Tom Hanks as 'the guy.'”
  • On her decision to shave her head for “Mad Max: Fury Road”: “At first, my character was going to be ghostlike and albino. And then I thought it would be stronger to shave my head. I called [director] George [Miller] and told him my plan. He went silent, which I thought was a good sign. So I borrowed some clippers and buzzed it all off.”
  • On the benefits of having a shaved head: “[It] was really fun to shower with my bald head. You have not showered until you’ve showered hairless. That’s all I have to say.”
  • On dancing with Channing Tatum: “God bless that man. He’s got some strength, because there was a lot of body for him to pick up, and he never complained. Thank God for those big shoulders.”
Charlize Theron in W Magazine
In a recent interview with W magazine, Charlize Theron discussed her role in \"Mad Max: Fury Road,\" aging, and her early crush on Tom Hanks.Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott / W Magazine

The full Theron feature appears in W's May issue, which arrives on newsstands April 28.

Follow TODAY.com writer Chris Serico on Twitter.