Charlize Theron relives bra-stuffing shame in new movie

Charlize Theron drew from an embarrassing past dating experience for a scene in her new romantic drama Young Adult after she was caught short with a stuffed bra.

In the film, the Oscar winner portrays Mavis Gary, a lonely teen romance novelist who returns to her hometown to try and win back her now-married high school boyfriend.

One clip sees Charlize Theron boost her bust with silicon cutlets for a date to disastrous effect - and she admits she's all too familiar with the routine.

She tells Vogue magazine, "I was on this date and started making out, and it was moving a little further, so I realized I had to get the cutlets out. But my bag was small, and I couldn't fit them in the thing... I may have hid them in his trash with lots of toilet paper."

But not everyone thought the movie scene was believable - until Charlize Theron came clean about her own dating dilemma to director Jason Reitman: "Jason was like, 'No way. That doesn't happen!' But that stuff happens to girls all the time."