Old Guard 2 director Victoria Mahoney hails Charlize Theron's dedication

Charlize Theron dedicated "1,000 percent of herself" to The Old Guard 2.

The 49-year-old actress teamed up with Victoria Mahoney to make The Old Guard 2, and Victoria has praised Charlize for her whole-hearted approach to the project.

The director told Deadline: "The thing about Charlize is, she comes hard, and she dedicates 1,000 percent of herself to every sequence, whether it’s trauma or action, and it’s visible.

"People know that, for many years we’ve all seen it, and we’ve witnessed it. But there is something really electrifying to see it up close in person, and she doesn’t leave anything on the field, as we say."

Victoria hailed Charlize as the "engine on the Old Guard franchise".

The director also suggested that the Oscar-winning actress actually helped to lift the performance levels of the film's cast and crew.

She explained: "I worked in pre-production for months with our fight choreographer, Georgi Manchev to make certain that the action throughout the movie had some sense of emotion.

"Obviously, and specifically the alley fight between Charlize’s Andromache character and Veronica Van’s Quynh character. It was vital that it had levels and layers and grounding in the heart, and this is why I mention this, I was excited when Georgi told me that Charlize was really moved the first time they auditioned the alley fight for her. Because, you know, it isn’t easy to make audiences feel when two people are fighting. My belief is, if audiences don’t feel anything in a fight scene, then what are we doing?

"So, what happens when someone like Charlize comes hard like that to any role is that everyone on the ground, you know, crew rises up to meet her and help make her dreams come true. And I’m really proud of what we all accomplished, and, let me tell you, Charlize is the engine on the Old Guard franchise – without a doubt."

Meanwhile, Henry Golding recently hailed Charlize as a "rare commodity in Hollywood".

The 38-year-old actor stars alongside Charlize in The Old Guard 2, and Henry lavished praise on his co-star, observing that Charlize is one of the most professional people he's worked with.

Speaking to People, Henry explained: "You know what it is? She leads from the front. She’s like a rare commodity in Hollywood.

"She is the female counterpart to a Tom Cruise. She’s the producer. She’s on set first thing in the morning, last at night, and she’s creating what she wants and she’s in there with the action. She’s in there with the choreography."

Henry believes that Charlize and Tom are unique figures in the movie business.

He said: "She and Tom Cruise are some of the last of the movie stars."