Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron Open Up About the Conflicts on the Set of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road ended up being a badass movie! Almost everyone who saw it loved it! It was just so damn good, but it wasn’t an easy movie to make. It was a difficult production, and there were lots of reports from the set that involved conflicts between members of the cast and the director while they were shooting.
Five years after the release of the film, Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy have actually opened up about the problems on the set and their infamous clash. During an interview with The New York Times, Theron and Hardy got candid with their answers and admitted to their faults and took responsibility for why they didn’t get along. Theron said:
“The biggest thing that was driving that entire production was fear. I was incredibly scared, because I’d never done anything like it. I think the hardest thing between me and George is that he had the movie in his head and I was so desperate to understand it.”
It seems like that would be a scary production to be a part of because it was so big and so ambitious! There was so much going on, so much action! Hardy went on to explain:
“Because of how much detail we were having to process and how little control one had in each new situation, and how fast the takes were — tiny snippets of story moments were needed to make the final cut work — we moved fast, and it was at times overwhelming. One had to trust that the bigger picture was being held together.”
Other cast members such as Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Zoe Kravitz also opened up about the behind-the-scenes conflicts, saying that they couldn’t blame Theron or Hardy for it because there was so much pressure on their shoulders to try and deliver what Miller was trying to get out of them. Huntington-Whiteley said:
“There was a lot of tension, and a lot of different personalities and clashes at times. It was definitely interesting to sit in a truck for four months with Tom and Charlize, who have completely different approaches to their craft.”
Kravitz added:
“Tom really had moments of frustration, of anger. Charlize did, too. But I feel like he’s the one who really took it out on George the most, and that was a bummer to see. But you know, in some ways, you also can’t blame him, because a lot was being asked of these actors and there were a lot of unanswered questions.”
Theron and Hardy go on to admit that they should’ve been more understanding of each other because of the situation that they had found themselves in while shooting the movie. Theron explained:
“In retrospect, I didn’t have enough empathy to really, truly understand what he must have felt like to step into Mel Gibson’s shoes. That is frightening! And I think because of my own fear, we were putting up walls to protect ourselves instead of saying to each other, ‘This is scary for you, and it’s scary for me, too. Let’s be nice to each other.’ In a weird way, we were functioning like our characters: Everything was about survival.”
Hardy went on to add:
“I would agree. I think 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. That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”
While there were major problems on the set of the film, Mad Max: Fury Road ended up being an action movie masterpiece. At the same time, I can understand why Miller didn’t want to jump in and make a sequel right away. Fury Road was a hellish filmmaking experience, and he and the rest of the cast and crew needed a break from it.