Charlize Theron's super power? She wants to see you naked

The Dish Rag talked with Charlize Theron recently about her new summer film, "Hancock," starring Will Smith, the superpowers she'd love to have in real life, her beauty secrets, and what it's really like to be dubbed a Hollywood sex symbol.

DR:  Are you a superhero in "Hancock?"

CT:  Well, I think we've tried to make people believe many different things, and I guess it's pretty obvious that we're trying to keep some things a secret. I just hope people aren't expecting some crazy surprise. I think what we're trying to hold onto is what I loved about the material, which was just a chemistry between two characters that I haven't seen before.

Obviously, it's a conflicted relationship because she's married and she has a stepson and she's kind of created the perfect family. But it really is more about a woman being stuck in two worlds.

DR: What superpowers would Charlize Theron like to have in real life?

CT: I don't know. Somebody told me that Will [Smith] wanted to read minds. That would probably be my least favorite one to have. That would scare me. It would be like, "Wow, they really think that?" I think it would be fun to see people naked. That could be scary as well, but I think that would have a sense of humor about it.

DR:  Anyone you'd particularly like to see?

CT: No, I just think it would be fun to walk down the street and see people nude and them not knowing.  I guess that's the element that makes a difference, them just not knowing. Because when we're nude we tend to suck it in and just to see some dude taking the garbage out [laughs]. I don't know.

DR:  You're an Oscar winner, but last year you were voted Esquire magazine's Sexiest Woman alive -– how did you feel about that?

CT: I think everything in life has to be taken with giant heaps of salt. I think you have to –- especially in this industry. Look, it's a great compliment. It's really sweet, but there is no such thing as "the sexiest woman alive." So it's a compliment that they thought that, but I don't walk around aiming to live up by any means to some standard that you just couldn't.

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DR: You were a dancer –- was that a good discipline for being an actress?

CT: I think dance is a good discipline for anything you tackle in your life. Dance is one of those artistic things that you only succeed at if you have the mind. Like a lot of sports, and I think having that at a really young age, having something nurture my mind in that sense of hard work and discipline, those are the only ways you excel at ballet and at sports, and I think those are great things to have as a foundation at a very young age, and I'm really grateful. It helps me in everything in my life. Everything.

DR:  How do you stay in shape and look so young and beautiful?

CT: There's this pill that you take [laughs].   It's not a mystery. You have to be healthy, and you have to work out and eat good and you have to drink water. I don't necessarily do that every day, and I was a smoker for many years, and I'm sure all of those things will one day show on my face, and I hope I can welcome them gracefully because, boy, it's been a great life.

DR: It seems like maybe your character made some mistake in her previous life. Can you talk about some mistake that you made yourself in your own life?

CT: I don't have any regrets. I'm not saying I don't believe in previous lives, but I don't know -- I'm sure I made many mistakes I think we all do. I think that's what life's about. I think that why I do the work that I do because I believe in human beings as being conflicted. I think that's our human nature, so I'm sure I made a lot of mistakes. But I don't think you have to necessarily make mistakes and regret them. I think when you fall on your face in life, that's when you gain the most knowledge.

DR: Do you try to make a balance between serious films and films like this?

CT: No, and I think Will might be the person who can actually change this (perception) in our industry.  We have been so compartmentalized as actors. We go in and do the really small independent films that are critically acclaimed and award-winning, and then I think people think you go and sell out and you do this big movie because you need to get a big paycheck and the material is not so great, and it's evident you're doing it for the money.

What's great is that Will is getting a film at a great budget, and you can go and make something that will have a great impact at the box office, but at the same time I think he has a real true hunger to want the work to be, the material to be as good. I think he might be the guy who can change that for us where we don't have to go and do smaller-budget films and work for free to do good quality work or do the other.

Q: Who's your favorite designer?

CT: There's a lot of great artists out there, designing. I work with a lot of people. Obviously I have a great relationship with John Galliano and Dior, and I've worked with their house for a long time, and I think he's a genius. But I love Giorgio Armani and . . . there's a lot of great, great designers. I love Stella McCartney. I've been doing this for quite a bit, so I've had the privilege of getting to know a lot of them and work with them.

Photo: Will Smith and Charlize Theron pal around at the London premiere of "Hancock" on June 18.
WireImage