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The director of Charlize Theron‘s latest movie hit has opened up about her desperate decadeslong struggle to make it in the movie industry—revealing how her roller coaster journey to Netflix fame was mired by homelessness, money troubles, and fierce battles to prove her worth to Hollywood bigwigs.
Victoria Mahoney, the woman behind the newly released Netflix movie, “The Old Guard 2,” which stars Theron, 49, as a superhero mercenary, may well become a household name after the premiere of the action-packed flick, which serves as a sequel to the original 2020 installment.
Yet, just a few years ago, things looked very different for Mahoney—who was raised on Long Island—with the director recalling to the New York Times how in 2009, she found herself without anywhere to live, admitting that she used to hole up in a hotel lobby throughout the night, before going to a friend’s home to shower and nap.
At the time, Mahoney was in the process of casting for her first movie, “Yelling to the Sky,” which starred Zoe Kravitz and Gabourey Sidibe, and she joked that anyone who happened to be entering New York’s Bowery Hotel “would have seen me sitting there with my bag in the middle of the night, like 1:15 a.m., with a smile from ear to ear,” at learning she had landed a major actor for one of the roles.
Even when she shot the movie, she was forced to rely on the kindness of others, telling Business Insider that the project was done on such a low budget that they couldn’t afford bathrooms for the cast and crew.
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“We would knock on the neighbors’ doors to use the bathroom because we had no money for trailers,” she recalled. “They would make us lemonade, and they were so sweet. What happened at that time was quite special. I loved every second.”
Far from allowing herself to dwell on her difficult circumstances, Mahoney used them as fuel to further her career, she said, noting: “For me, I didn’t have a bedroom to go home to. I had nowhere. There was no return. It was advantageous that I could only go forward.”
According to Mahoney, she was not raised in a family that had any kind of wealth, explaining to the outlet that she is “the only earner in my life,” and has not been able to rely on any fallback funds provided by her relatives when times have been tough.
“There’s nothing’s coming from an aunt or grandmother at any point in time. Whatever I earn, that’s whatever I have,” she explained.
Today, things have changed dramatically for Mahoney, who has a number of impressive credits to her name, including two episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy.” She also has a new Amazon movie in the works that centers on the world of NASCAR.
Despite her many struggles to reach this point in her career, the director notes that one thing has remained a constant in her life: her determination to succeed in an industry that has been anything but easy to navigate.
“I don’t know how anyone goes from Point A to Point B to Point Zed in any endeavor, without absolute, certain, unwavering belief this is happening,” she told the Times.
Having spent much of her childhood and the early days of her career in New York, Mahoney is now thought to be based in L.A., where she recently directly an episode of “Suits: L.A.,” a sequel to the hit legal drama that starred Meghan Markle.
(Netflix)
However, she may still face something of a struggle to reach the dizzying heights of fame that iconic directors such as Jerry Bruckheimer or Steven Spielberg have found, particularly given the less-than-glowing reviews that “The Old Guard 2” has thus far received.
“Overall ‘The Old Guard 2’ is fine, a bit of a background movie that’s probably easy enough to tune in and out of,” the Associated Press‘ review reads.
“Its greatest sin is the non-ending, which might have moviegoers engaging in their own rants about wasted time. Cliffhangers are a gamble — when the movie is satisfying on its own, it can leave them wanting more. In this case, it might just leave them angry. Audiences in 2025 deserve better.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Beast called attention to the fact that Mahoney has “little to no action experience,” something its reviewer said was evident throughout the movie.
“A cliffhanger suggests that a third chapter is apparently in the cards,” the review concludes. “On the basis of this listless offering, however, the streaming series has already reached the end of its natural lifespan.”
Despite much chatter about a potential sequel to “The Old Guard 2,” Mahoney has already confirmed that she will not be a part of the project—if it happens—telling The Direct that she has already committed to other endeavors that will occupy the next six or seven years.
“I’m not in the room. I’m not in that discussion of whether there will be another or not … I will be for the next six, seven years, on some other jobs,” she said. “And so someone else will take that mantle in a wonderful, exciting way, and I don’t know what they’re gonna do, but I know it’ll be great, and it’ll be fun, and it will be with great regard and care for the audience, and I will be eagerly awaiting it.