How Charlize Theron’s Barefoot Climb Powered Netflix’s No. 1 Movie

Charlize Theron’s war stories from the making of Apex are going viral as the survival thriller dominates Netflix, topped by the revelation that she scaled a real mountain barefoot at the insistence of a director she affectionately brands “mad.”

“I worked with a mad director from Iceland who was like, ‘You have to climb the mountain.’ And I was saying, ‘Holy f–k, he’s gonna make me actually climb this f–king mountain,'”

Theron recalled on the Call Her Daddy podcast, revealing she’d had elbow surgery just four weeks earlier.

‘You Are Climbing This Mountain’

Theron plays Sasha, a professional free solo climber, no ropes, no protection, being hunted through the Australian wilderness. Director Baltasar Kormákur, the Icelandic filmmaker behind Everest, wanted authenticity at any cost.

“He was like, ‘For the next three weeks, we are only shooting this mountain, and you are climbing this mountain,'” Theron said. “And I f–king climbed that mountain barefoot, like no shoes. It was insane.”

Far from a warm-and-fuzzy set, Theron has joked that praise from her taskmaster director was in famously short supply, though the finished film suggests his methods worked.

The Injury Bill: Two Elbow Surgeries and a Broken Toe

The authenticity carried a price tag written on Theron’s body. “I did some damage to my elbow. And I, after the film, had to have a surgery and a revision surgery on it. So, two surgeries,” she told ScreenRant, adding:

“[I] fractured a toe. I’m doing water work, I slammed it into a rock.”

The elbow injuries kept her from climbing for six months, forcing a professional climber to double some late sequences. Her self-diagnosis:

“I think I’m accident-prone. Honestly, if something is going to go wrong, it will happen with me”, a résumé that includes a herniated neck disc on Æon Flux that nearly paralyzed her, and shoulder surgery after The Old Guard 2.

Training With a Legend

Theron didn’t wing it. She trained intensively with climbing icon Beth Rodden, who, after a month, described climbing with the actress like scaling with “one of her girlfriends.” Theron then insisted on performing most climbing sequences herself, often barefoot, sustaining bruised, bleeding feet that the cameras captured for real.

Her stunts were reportedly intense enough to scare Kormákur himself, no small feat for the man who shot Everest. Theron, 50, has called Apex her favorite film she’s ever made, crediting the “beginner’s mind” the outdoors forced on her.

The Payoff: No. 1 on Netflix

Apex, which opens with Sasha and fiancé Tommy (Eric Bana) scaling Norway’s Troll Wall before tragedy sends her to Australia, and into the path of Taron Egerton’s chilling predator, premiered April 24 and climbed straight to Netflix’s No. 1 spot despite mixed reviews.

For Theron, fresh off playing Calypso in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, the barefoot mountain now joins Furiosa’s rig and Atomic Blonde’s stairwell in the pantheon of punishment she’s endured for the frame, two elbow surgeries, one fractured toe, and zero regrets.

Charlize Theron says she climbed a mountain barefoot for her new movie and the director never gave her one compliment the entire shoot

“I just had elbow surgery four weeks ago. I did this movie in Australia and I play like a professional rock climber — a free soloist kind of… pic.twitter.com/gMP6akhiky

— ramagazzi (@ramagazzi) July 16, 2026

FAQ

Did Charlize Theron really climb barefoot in Apex?

Yes. She scaled the mountain shoeless over roughly three weeks at director Baltasar Kormákur’s insistence, sustaining bruised and bleeding feet.

What injuries did she suffer?

Elbow damage requiring two surgeries, a fractured toe from slamming into a rock during water work, and intercostal muscle injuries.

Who directed Apex?

Baltasar Kormákur, the Icelandic director of Everest, whom Theron affectionately calls “a mad director from Iceland.”

What is Apex about?

A grieving free solo climber (Theron) travels to Australia to scatter her fiancé’s ashes and is hunted by a charming psychopath (Taron Egerton).

Where can I watch Apex?

On Netflix, where it premiered on April 24, 2026, and hit No. 1 on the platform.

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