Charlize Theron Debuts a Brunette Bob at the Oscars for Netflix’s The Old Guard

When Charlize Theron arrived at 91st installment of the Oscars, she was almost unrecognizable. That’s because the Atomic Blonde ditched her usual platinum hair for a much darker look: She debuted a brunette bob on the red carpet. Theron paired her new hairstyle with a powder blue, long-sleeve and backless Dior Couture gown, both of which are reminiscent of the character she will soon be playing in her next role.

Theron, who is at the 2019 Oscars as a presenter, was just announced as the lead in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of the comic book series by Greg Rucka and illustrator Leandro Fernández, The Old Guard. The actress will be co-starring alongside If Beale Street Could Talk‘s KiKi Layne and her character in the comic book wears a blue long-sleeve top and has brunette hair. Instead of being armed, though, Theron was decked out in diamonds by Bvlgari.

“Decided to chop it all off before the big moment,” Theron’s hairstylist Adir Abergel explained on Instagram. “Hair is your greatest accessory and the best way to transform a look quickly. This week we changed @charlizeafrica color and this morning we chopped off her hair. Thank you @traceycunningham1 for helping me achieve this vision and thank you @virtuelabs and @ghd_northamerica for making the hair gorgeous and shiny.”

This isn’t the first time Theron has gone brunette, or opted for a brunette bob. Back in 1999, she wore one with choppy bangs for her role in The Yards. Then in 2005, she wore another take on the brunette bob with an asymmetrical cut for Aeon Flux.

As for her role in The Old Guard, the film will be yet another female-centric action movie for Theron, who’s made that genre one of her signatures with her parts in films like Mad Max: Fury Road, The Fate of the Furious and, most recently, Atomic Blonde. According to Deadline, the movie follows “a small covert group of immortal mercenaries who must fight to keep their team together when they discover the existence of a new immortal and their extraordinary abilities are exposed.”