Prometheus: Charlize Theron plays Meredith Vickers

leading from

Prometheus' Cast and Characters

 

a) The role of Vickers the "Suit"
Charlize Theron plays the role of Meredith Vickers, a woman character, a different kind of company "suit" or even a "corporate entity" who runs the company that has pulled the money together to fund the mission to send the spacecraft to another planet,  her character is cold and business like, appearing to have an agenda that starts out to appear to be one thing and transforms into another

b) Charlize cast as Meredith
Ridley came to Charlize and said " Do you want to do this?"
She replied " For me, to work with you is a really difficult decision to make, but I'll think about it"
Actually she wanted to work with him, but she read the script and felt instinctively as if the character was slightly too one-dimensional for her. Sometimes there are characters within films that are not explored, she was looking at this whole thing from the perspective of a film producer wanting to make a better film and she didn't want to hurt the film

c) Changing Meredith
Then Damon Lindelof stepped in and she got on the phone with him and Ridley and she threw very loose cannons towards them, with no specific ideas but she wanted to have a role that was somewhat more layered. They talked about the whole thing and the more they realised it, with the big themes  of what the story and the film was about, there was a way to explore some of that, in a different way because this Vickers was such a different character. She was neither a believer or a scientist. She comes with this very frigid, cold, economic mind, and yet there's somewhere about her that's questioning and doubting. When Ridley and Damon came together to fulfill the potential on the character, she was on board. Charlize was inspired by the changes to the role where she starts out as one things and then ends up another in the third act as someone with an agenda that was completely different.

d) On the set
She noticed how Ridley shot everything so layered that she would always wonder. There were many days when she would show up and just be a character in the corner lurking over everybody, not saying anything but just watching. And for her it added to the enigma of the character and about what her agenda really was.


Quote sources

1. Damon Lindelof talked to MTV about Charlize Theron's role as Meredith Vickers
   Theron's Role
   
   Lindelof: "Her character's name is Meredith Vickers and she's sort of a corporate entity. That's another one of the familiar things from the 'Alien' movies — that there are corporate interests in play. I feel like Charlize brought a new spin on that old variation. It's a remix …. I don't think she's slimy [like Paul Reiser's character in 'Aliens']. She's not the fast-talking, snake-oil face of the company. By the way, "What company is she a face of?," I think is a big part of the fun. As we were developing the script, she had some really cool ideas that made it not the suit you're used to."
   
2. Question: Charlize, can you talk about the character that you’re playing?
   Theron: No I can’t, sorry. I’m just here to be pretty. No. I play this lady called Meredith Vickers. She’s the suit that runs the company that has nickeled and dimed this whole thing together, to fund this mission. Initially, she really was just that. And, Ridley came to me and said, “Do you want to do this?” I said, “For me, to work with you is a really difficult decision to make, but I’ll think about it.” No. Obviously, I wanted to work with him, but I felt like the character was just a little one-dimensional. [Damon Lindelof] stepped in, and I got on the phone with him and Ridley, and I threw very loose cannons towards him, with no specific ideas, but just wanting her to be somewhat more layered. I can’t tell you what Damon came up with, but he came up with some good shit! She starts out one thing and ends up another thing. It’s a pretty nice surprised, toward the third act, so I don’t want to ruin that for you, but she really does start out very one-dimensional. The great thing about Ridley is that he shoots everything so layered that you always wonder. There were many days that I showed up and he would do this tiny little thing like throw me in the corner, just lurking. And then, all of a sudden, that became a character trait. I would always be in the corner, lurking over everybody, and not saying anything, but just watching. Then, you realize that it really adds to this enigma of this character and what her agenda really is. (At the Comic-Con  2011, Q & A panel, Charlize talks about her character)
3. Question: Charlize, you’ve made a lot of really interesting choices in your career and you’re not typecast. What was it about this character that excited you about taking on this role? Theron: For me, more than thinking of it and compartmentalizing it as a character who does this or is this, it’s always been the only marriage that has lasted, of who I’m working with and what I believe the chemistry of me and that person, and everybody else on the film, can bring and elevate. There’s an instinctive part, when I read something. I read this and I felt like, instinctively, she wasn’t really explored, and that’s fine. Sometimes you do a film and there are characters that are not explored, and you obviously don’t want to hurt a film. But, the more Ridley and I talked about it, the more we realized that, with the big themes of what the story and the film was about, there was a way to explore some of that, in a different way, because Vickers is such a different character. She’s not a believer. She’s not a scientist. She comes with this very frigid, cold, economic mind, and yet there’s something about her that’s questioning and doubting. You think it’s for one reason, and then later you realize that her agenda was actually something completely different, and that really wasn’t explored. You couldn’t explore that through the other characters because they were so different from her. I produce films, so I do come from a place of wanting to make the film better. I really don’t come from a place of, “If I’m going to play this, I need this.” I just wanted to see the potential through, and if Ridley wanted to do that and Damon wanted to do that, then I was really on board. These are the little moments that happen, that you don’t necessarily see coming. Through her and her characteristics, we really explored a lot of deep shit, which was really, really fun. Eventually, in the third act, I get to do some really, really fun stuff. (At the Comic-Con  2011, Q & A panel, Charlize talks about her character)