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Paul Verhoeven's 20th Anniversary Showgirls apology tour continues! Following remarks he made about the film last month, he's now taking all of the blame for the implosion of Elizabeth Berkley's career.

In a new interview with the New York Daily News, Verhoeven places the blame on Berkley's lack of roles after Showgirls squarely on his own shoulders, saying that it was a terrible way to reintroduce her to the public...

"Showgirls certainly ruined the career of Elizabeth Berkley in a major way," Verhoeven said. "It made my life more difficult, but not to the degree it did Elizabeth's. Hollywood turned their backs on her.

"If somebody has to be blamed, it should be me because I thought that it was interesting to portray somebody like that.

"I had hoped the end of the movie would explain why she acted that way, when it's revealed she has convictions linked with drugs, but that too turned out to be a big mistake."

Berkley's basic acting abilities were pilloried, but Verhoeven feels that was his fault, too. "I asked Elizabeth to do all that to be abrupt and to act in that way, but people have been attacking her about for that ever since.

"I did consider that people would think she had a borderline personality, but that was because her character had history of drug abuse, so I tried to express that through her abruptness."

"Hollywood was pissed off with her because she went further than any actress has gone or will go and I think they have never forgiven her. Her performance pushed the limits and that worried them.

"They were just so shocked by the movie that they hated her.

"Elizabeth could only have recovered from the movie by being offered a very different role, but that just didn't happen for her otherwise she would have taken the job. New roles were never offered, so it was impossible for her to make a comeback."

Also in this interview, Verhoeven reveals that the role of Nomi almost went to another actress, one who was a relative unknown at the time, but who would later win an Oscar and become one of the most famous and recognizable faces in the industry: Charlize Theron!Theron4

Theron, an unknown at the time, had a lucky escape when she was not chosen for the role in "Showgirls." She went on to star in "Two Days in the Valley" in 1996.

Verhoeven would have cast the blond beauty, who won an Oscar in 2003 for her gritty performance in "Monster," but felt she was too unknown. He says the decision saved her career.

"Charlize also auditioned, and I don't recall her having any problem with the nudity at all.

"She was good and wanted the part, but basically she was not well known enough at the time and just did not fit the part, so we said no.

"I have full respect for Charlize, but if she had been offered the part then she would probably have been chewed up in the same way they treated Elizabeth.

"She was very lucky that she did not get the part.

"I wish Charlize congratulations for that because it would have have been a miserable 20 years for her!"

That's very true. What do you think? Would it have been any better with Charlize in the lead or would we have been cheated out of the rest of her arguably terrific career?