Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Baltasar Kormákur, Netflix’s ‘Apex’ journeys alongside Sasha, a climber and thrill-seeker whose life takes a surprise turn after an incident on Norway’s Troll Wall. Months later, she tries her hand at kayaking through Australia’s powerful rapids and dense forests, not knowing what dangers await. On her way, she meets a trucker named Ben, who seems nice on first glance, but soon shows himself to be the most vicious person she has ever met. What starts as an ordinary camping and adventure trip quickly becomes a battle for survival. With no easy way out of the thicket, Sasha finds herself relying on pure grit, as well as her mastery of climbing and kayaking, both of which set the rhythm for the movie.
Charlize Theron Spent a Month Learning to Climb From an Expert
For her role in ‘Apex,’ Charlize Theron underwent real climbing, kayaking, and wilderness training to perform most of the high-octane stunt sequences on her own. To reach the required level of proficiency, Theron and the film’s creative team worked with expert rock climber Beth Rodden, who spent a month preparing Theron for the role. In a conversation with the BBC, Theron revealed that she had no climbing experience before the film, aside from climbing trees as a child. As such, the first step was developing enough strength to pull things off.
By that point, Director Baltasar Kormákur and Director of Photography Lawrence Sher had already contacted Rodden as a consultant for the nitty-gritty of climbing big walls and other natural formations. The trio spent an entire day hiking and discussing logistics before deciding that Rodden would spend all of November 2024 training Theron, with several days of climbing each week. Before this, Rodden wasn’t particularly fond of how climbing was portrayed in Hollywood films, but she was moved by the team behind ‘Apex’ and its dedication to learning and respecting the craft.
Charlize Theron Powered Through Several Injuries While Performing Her Own Stunts
For Charlize Theron, a complete beginner to climbing, training involved trying something new every day, with Rodden keeping track of her climbing style and ability. She noted that Theron’s dancing background is likely what made her a natural at maintaining balance, and it didn’t take long for the actor to get good at climbing. Training also involved bouldering and toproping, the latter of which features prominently in the film. While Theron never led the climbing sessions while training with Rodden, she nonetheless mastered clipping and unclipping harnesses, as her character, Sasha, performs the maneuvers often.
In addition to a basic understanding of climbing and gear, Theron also learned more specialized techniques, such as rappelling and belaying. By the end of their month of training, Rodden described climbing with Theron as if she were one of her girlfriends, which speaks to how quickly the actress got the hang of things. When it came to filming for the movie, she chose to take on most of the climbing sequences, often barefoot. However, the journey wasn’t exactly easy, and the actor even sustained a fractured toe and some injuries to her intercostal muscles. In addition to that, she also underwent surgery for two elbow injuries, and couldn’t do any climbing for six months. As such, some of the climbing sequences towards the end of filming required a professional climber to step in as a stunt double.
Kayaking Turned Out to be a Bigger Challenge For Charlize Theron Than Climbing
In an interview with Outside Magazine, Charlize Theron also revealed that the movie’s climactic climbing sequence was shot on a real cliff, and that she was allowed to perform her own stunts barefoot. When speaking about how scary the climb was, she recalled, “That shot, when I’m trying to push myself up on that cliff, I’m actually really trying not to die.” Despite the odds, Theron, as Sasha, comes across as a seasoned climber on screen, not only maintaining the immersion but also raising the bar for what the movie can do with its premise. Even off-screen, Theron has become a climbing aficionado and has revealed that she actually prefers climbing barefoot.
While climbing is at the heart of ‘Apex,’ the movie also introduces an equally adventurous activity: kayaking. Just as before, Theron decided to pull off her own stunt sequence and extensively trained to get the finer details right. “I thought the kayaking would be more natural for me, because I’m really good in water,” she explained, adding that she is a great swimmer. However, learning to maneuver a kayak proved to be the most demanding experience for Theron. When asked by USA Today about whether she plans to pursue kayaking as a hobby after the film, she humorously replied with, “I will not be buying a kayak anytime soon.” Regardless, it’s Theron’s sheer commitment to pushing her limits that makes the most action-packed and technical sequences of the film come to life.
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