Snow White and the Huntsman is a new take on an old classic, where the princess is her own heroine but there’s still room for love to play a role.

Charlize Theron stars as the evil Queen Ravenna, alongside Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman and Sam Claflin as Prince William. Director Rupert Sanders said he wanted to update the story without losing the soul of it.

In the film, just as in the fairy tale, Charlize’s character will do anything to stay young and beautiful. Aging seems to be an issue the Benoni-born star is comfortable with, though the actress admits that after seeing herself in the mirror with make-up and prosthetics to make her look older she was taken aback: “They were authentically ageing my face, so there is a moment where you go, ‘Oh my God! Really?’ I took a picture and sent it to my mom,” she chuckled.

She says she channelled a bit of Jack Nicholson for the role. “Just before I said yes to Rupert, The Shining was on TV and it was that scene in that giant room, where Jack is throwing the tennis ball, and his wife comes in and he stalks her, and you see him unravelling. The castle is Ravenna’s hotel in which she unravels,” said Charlize.

Charlize appears in magnificent costumes, designed by Colleen Atwood, which she says helped her immensely in getting into character. “It’s everything for me,” she says. “I don’t like auditions because I don’t have any of that stuff to help me become the role. There’s something about wearing a corset that feels very powerful.”

Playing a more powerful version of Snow White than we’re used to seeing, Kristen says although she watched the movie when she was younger, she didn’t have a special connection to the story at the time, and only saw the Grimm brothers’ version just before doing the film. And there’s talk of a sequel, in which she believes there has to be a fall from grace. “We started with a character that is very far from the archetype we knew, but we ended up with a strong version of her. She’s very Joan-of-Archy but it’s different from what we’re used to, and I’d like to see where how she develops.”

Nadia Neophytou brings us an exclusive video interview with Charlize and the cast of Snow White and the Hunstman. Click here to watch it.