Charlize Theron Says Nicole Kidman Didn't Recognize Her as Megyn Kelly on 'Bombshell' Set

Bombshell hits theaters on Dec. 20

Even Nicole Kidman had trouble seeing Charlize Theron under that impeccable Megyn Kelly disguise.

Theron stars as former Fox News host Megyn Kelly in Bombshell, the highly-anticipated drama about the women who spoke up about the sexual harassment they allegedly experienced at the conservative news network. Kelly was one of them, and Theron perfectly transforms into the TV personality for the role.

So much so that Kidman, who plays former anchor Gretchen Carlson, didn’t recognize Theron on set one day.

“She walked by me at one point and I thought she was mad at me,” Theron told Entertainment Tonight. “I thought, ‘Oh god! What did I do? Did I mess something up in her trailer? Did I not say hi nicely?'”

“She just came up to me and she was like ‘Charlize?’ and then I said, ‘Yes are you mad at me?'” Theron added. “She said, ‘No I just didn’t know that was you!”

Momentary misunderstanding aside, Theron, 44, went on to praise Kidman, 52, for always being there for her throughout her career — even though hadn’t had the chance to work together until now.

“She has never done anything but support and show up for me,” Theron said. “We’ve been trying to make a movie for so long. I’m just happy to finally be in a film with her.”

Hilary Bronwyn Gayle

Bombshell — which stars Theron as Kelly, Kidman ⁠as Carlson, and Margot Robbie as a new Fox News worker — tells the story of the women who claim they were sexually harassed by former Ailes, played by John Lithgow. Kelly and Carlson, both former employees of the network, claimed sexual harassment from Ailes during their careers.

The Jay Roach-directed Fox News drama was screened for the first time in Los Angeles on Sunday, and critics are already praising the film and its famous leading ladies.

“BOMBSHELL will make a convincing case for the VICE slot in the Best Picture race,” Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times wrote on Twitter, later adding, “Margot Robbie should see supporting-actress heat for BOMBSHELL, which gives her a meaty arc from true-believer to potential whistleblower. But the film may also catch heat for the character, since she’s a fictional composite handed the film’s most significant sex-harassment scene.”

Even more called on nominations for Theron and her “uncanny” performance of Kelly, which left some viewers “awestruck.”

“Charlize Theron is remarkable as Megyn Kelly. She disappears into the part, owns the movie,” Sasha Stone of Awards Daily News wrote. “The cast of characters are hilariously Fox. Like Game Change and Recount ish. #bombshell”

“Wow. @CharlizeAfrica as Megan Kelly. Well, she just entered the Oscar race big time. #bombshell,” Variety senior journalist Mac Malkin also wrote.

Bombshell hits theaters on Dec. 20.