United Kingdom, April 20 -- Charlize Theron was left terrified by drunks amid her abusive father's alcoholism.

The actress made the admission as she spoke about her childhood in South Africa, describing an upbringing marked by alcohol abuse and tension within her family home.

Charlize, 50, reflected on her early life in an interview with The New York Times, detailing experiences growing up with her father, Charles Theron, and her mother, Gerda Jacoba Aletta Martiz - who ended up shooting her dad dead in self-defence.

The actress said her father struggled with alcohol and that the atmosphere in their home was often shaped by his behaviour.

She was 15 when her mother fatally shot her father in 1991 in what was later ruled self-defence....