Summary

  • Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller addresses Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron's feud on the set, noting their different approaches to acting.
  • Miller sees the feud as mirroring their characters' cooperation for survival in Mad Max: Fury Road.
  • Despite the on-set feud, the success of Fury Road was not derailed, grossing $380 million worldwide and earning 10 Oscar nominations.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy.

During a recent interview with The Telegraph, Miller addressed Hardy and Theron's feud on Mad Max: Fury Road. The director attributed their feud to them being "two very different performers," describing Hardy as more mercurial and Theron as "incredibly disciplined." Miller also explained how their feud mirrored their characters, as Max and Furiosa reluctantly team up "to ensure mutual survival." Read his full comments below:

They were just two very different performers. Tom has a damage to him but also a brilliance that comes with it, and whatever was going on with him at the time, he had to be coaxed out of his trailer. Whereas Charlize was incredibly disciplined – a dancer by training, which told in the precision of her performance – and always the first one on set.

I’m an optimist, so I saw their behaviour as mirroring their characters, where they had to learn to co-operate in order to ensure mutual survival. There’s no excuse for it, and I think there’s a tendency in this business to use great performances as an excuse for other disruption that could be avoided.

Inside Tom Hardy & Charlize Theron's Feud On Mad Max: Fury Road

Hardy & Theron Have Both Said They Regretted It

The book Blood, Sweat and Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan, published in 2022, details the feud between Hardy and Theron on set. In the book, there are quotes from many key cast and crew chronicling the conflict that nearly derailed the movie, including the actors themselves. Similar to Miller, star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley attributes the feud to Hardy and Theron having "completely different approaches to their craft." Kelly Marcel, a screenwriter and personal friend of Hardy, elaborates:

Tom is very physical and all over the place and would try very different things. Charlize is cerebral and very consistent in the way that she approaches a character. They’re both powerhouses, but in their very different ways of working. Which, weirdly, is why the film works: It’s all pouring out on the screen.

Theron says her feud with Hardy on the film's set "was like two parents fighting in the front of the car." Years later, the Oscar-winning actor regrets the relationship she and Hardy had on the Fury Road set, saying, "We should not have done that; we should have been better. I can own up to that." Similarly, Hardy has also taken ability, saying, "In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways. The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me."

Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road as Furiosa
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While the feud between Hardy and Theron on Fury Road has been well-documented, it didn't end up derailing the film as some feared. The movie became a critical and commercial success, grossing $380 million worldwide and earning 10 Oscar nominations before dominating the technical categories with six wins. Miller's recent reflection helps shed light on the feud between Hardy and Theron on Mad Max: Fury Road, though nearly a decade later, the results surely speak for themselves.

Mad Max: Fury Road is streaming on Max. Furiosa releases in theaters on May 24.

Source: The Telegraph

Mad Max Fury Road Poster

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Mad Max: Fury Road
R
Action
Adventure
Thriller
Fantasy
9/10
76
8.3/10
Release Date
May 14, 2015
Runtime
120 Minutes
Director
George Miller

Cast

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WHERE TO WATCH

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Mad Max: Fury Road is the fourth film in George Miller's long-running sci-fi franchise, with Tom Hardy starring as Max Rockstansky, a vagabond who lives on the road in an apocalyptic wasteland. When Max comes across a cult group that keeps its people in fear and under control with a monopoly on water and other crucial supplies, he s up with Imperator Furiosa, a warrior woman leading a rebellion against the cult's leader, Immortan Joe.

Writers
George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
Franchise(s)
Mad Max
Studio(s)
Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Kennedy Miller Mitchell
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Budget
$154-185 Million