Charlize Theron is the latest guest to charm Stephen Colbert and his audience last night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

It’s only about once every few weeks, maybe even a month, that a mega-star like Charlize Theron appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, so when an actor of her stature walks on stage, you get excited. Because what hasn’t she done? She won Best Actress in 2003 for Monster, was Æon Flux, rode the Fury Road, went against Vin Diesel and his gang in The Fate of The Furious, and of course had a long-running guest spot in Arrested Development (and, coincidentally, she shared the backstage with the show’s producer Ron Howard last night).

But before all that, little Charlize Theron’s dream was not to act, but to dance – it’s what she thought she was going to do for the rest of her life, but fate intervened and, well, here she is now.

That’s not to say that she wasn’t ever into film. Of course she was… but mostly for the practicalities of it. Twelve-year-old Theron would utilize certain genres – mainly, horror – to entice the attention of boys her age. In fact, the first time she ever had a make-out session was a quick event after a viewing of Friday the 13th, while her boy’s mother was waiting in the driveway. Guess how that turned out.

One of Theron’s first big films was That Thing You Do, a Tom Hanks film in every sense of the word. Hanks is just everybody’s favourite, so you can imagine that auditioning for him would be pretty overwhelming. Well, how about auditioning with him? Hanks read Theron’s scene partner’s lines when she auditioned for That Thing You Do, and suffice to say, she had a few nervous missteps.

Luckily, her career didn’t end there. Now, she’s starring in Tully, a film she also produced. Its subject matter draws heavily from Theron’s own experience as a mother, and aims to be a more honest look at parentage. Given that it’s been certified “Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes and positively reviewed almost everywhere else, it seems like it hits the  mark.

Catch more of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airing weeknights at 11.35 et/pt on Global, and watch the latest episodes online here on GlobalTV.com!