Sarah Paulson responds to Charlize Theron comparisons over Aileen role

Sarah Paulson has addressed those who consider her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos "not as good as" Charlize Theron's.

In the new Netflix series, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Paulson is the latest star to portray the convicted serial killer, a character famously played by Theron in 2003's Monster, for which she won the Best Actress Oscar.

During an appearance on the Shut Up Evan podcast, the American Horror Story star pointed out the comparison, sharing that some people found her performance "great" while others thought it was "not as good as" Theron's work.

"It's just this sort of weird thing where it's like, I didn't set out to do something better than Charlize Theron. I didn't set out to blast hers off the screen or something - as if anyone could ever do that," Paulson explained, insisting that she was not trying to "dethrone her brilliance" with her take on Wuornos.

The Ocean's 8 star admitted that she was initially apprehensive when Ryan Murphy offered her the role because she knew there would be comparisons.

"It flashed in front of me, like people are going to compare it to Charlize... Why would I do that? Why would I want to go out in the world and give a performance when someone has won an Oscar for that? That's some kind of psycho behaviour on your part, Sarah Paulson. And then I thought, 'But I want to try," she shared.

Paulson also insisted that Theron's performance is completely separate from hers.

"So this is my interpretation of Aileen Wuornos based on the research I did and based on my personhood and how it comes out through me. It's not an attempt to do something like anybody ever did," she said.

"I have to wade through this either assassination or celebration of my performance as it pertains to something else. It's got nothing to do with it."

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story was released on Netflix earlier this month.