Charlize Theron has claimed "guys will get a free ride" in Hollywood

She told the New York Times newspaper: "it's harder. That's known. Action films with female leads don't get green lit as much as the ones with male leads.

"I think the thing that always frustrates me is the fact that guys will get a free ride.

"When women do this and the movie maybe doesn't hit fully, they don't necessarily get a chance again."

She explained that she and Uma Thurman - who star together in new action movie The Old Guard 2 - were "very aware" of the pressures of their latest project.

She added: "With this, we were very aware that eyes were on us.

"It's not a risk that studios want to take, but they'll take it many times on the same guy who might have a string of action movies that did not do so well."

Charlize has been vocal about the treatment of women in Hollywood, and previously opened up about an unnamed director she worked with early in her career.

She has accused him of greeting her in his pyjamas for an audition at his home, before putting "his hands on [her] knees", at which point she left.

Charlize has never revealed his identity, and she refuses to name him for a simple reason.

She recently told the Call Her Daddy podcast: "I don't want the story to be about him. It's not because I'm protecting him or anything."

The Mad Max: Fury Road star admitted the director "got nervous" after she initially opened up about the allegations on The Howard Stern Show in 2019.

She said: "He heard me tell the story and he knew it was about him, and he wrote me a pretend letter trying to explain his behavior and how I must have misunderstood it, which is classic, isn't it? It's so classic.

"I won't even f****** say your name because you know you're the scumbag. You know it's you. If anybody ever asked me about him, I would be completely honest - and he knows that.

"I kind of like that he's got to be on a hot seat. He doesn't know when it's going to come. I kind of like that a little more."