Not even the very best in show business isn’t immune from lows in their resume and for Charlize Theron,  it was the 2005’s adaptation of Peter Chung’s acclaimed work.

Even though the actress landed an Oscar win for Best Actress a year prior to accepting the live-action adaptation of Chung’s animated show, the 2005 adaptation would come close to ending her rise in Hollywood.

But apart from receiving low critical reception and being bashed at the Box office as it struggled to break even, Theron also went on to suffer a severe accident on the sets of the film.

Charlize Theron

Accepting the offer to star in Aeon Flux became a nightmare for Charlize Theron

Being a fan of the original Aeon Flux, it’s reasonable to see why the Mad Max star agreed to star in the ambitious live-action adaptation. However, Charlize Theron revealed that it wasn’t the script that sold her onto the movie, but it was the opportunity of working alongside Karyn Kusama, as she was a big fan of Kusama’s Girlfight.

But this decision almost ended the actress’ career both physically and metaphorically. as the low critical reception tanked Theron’s career to the bottom and a failed stunt almost left the actress paralyzed. Reflecting on the situation, she stated,

“And then we f—d it all up. I just don’t think we really knew how to execute it. And it’s disappointing, but it happens. I’ve been in this business long enough to know that you cannot get it right every time.”

Aeon Flux (2005)

Reflecting on the severity of her injuries on the Aeon Flux sets, she explained,

“What happened on Aeon Flux was a very unfortunate accident, and it was very severe. I was a centimeter away from being completely paralyzed for the rest of my life.”

But this hasn’t stopped the action star from pursuing her own stunts in future entries, as the Hancock star has cemented herself as the very best in the action realm.

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron took safety measures to limit the damages from Aeon Flux

Although looking in hindsight at their failed work, actors and filmmakers do realize what went wrong at the moment, Charlize Theron expected Aeon Flux to underperform from the get-go.

Following the production problems that occurred while creating the film during a transitioning period of the studio, the end product was only able to garner around $52M from an estimated $62M budget. But in order to control the damages from the movie, Charlize Theron signed to star in Arrested Development, a show she was a big fan of. She said,

“I knew that Aeon Flux was going to be a f***ing flop. I knew it from the beginning, that’s why I did Arrested Development.”

Arrested Development

But despite Aeon Flux‘s disastrous performance, Theron eventually bounced back to the top, garnering an Oscar nomination under her belt for 2019’s Bombshell.