We now have more details about the on-set drama of Mad Max: Fury Road.
More than seven years after the film’s premiere, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron opened up about her experience during production—specifically, her highly publicized feud with co-star Tom Hardy. The 46-year-old actress was among those quoted in Kyle Buchanan’s new book, Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, which explores the two-decade making of the Oscar-winning film.
According to excerpts published by Vanity Fair, the beef between 44-year-old Hardy and Theron came to a “turning point” when the former appeared on set three hours late.
“I remember vividly the day. The call on set was eight o’clock,” camera operator Mark Goellnich recalled. “Charlize got there right at eight o’clock, sat in the War Rig, knowing that Tom’s never going to be there at eight even though they made a special request for him to be there on time. He was notorious for never being on time in the morning. If the call time was in the morning, forget it—he didn’t show up.”
Goellnich said the Oscar-winning actress remained in the War Rig for the next several hours, and didn’t move until Hardy showed up.
“She jumps out of the War Rig, and she starts swearing her head off at him, saying, ‘Fine the fucking c**t a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew,’ and ‘How disrespectful you are!’” Goellnicht said. “She was right. Full rant. She screams it out. It’s so loud, it’s so windy — he might’ve heard some of it, but he charged up to her and went, ‘What did you say to me?’”
He went on to say that Theron felt so threatened that she requested a producer be with her at all times for “protection.” The actress corroborated Goellnicht’s account.
“It got to a place where it was kind of out of hand, and there was a sense that maybe sending a woman producer down could maybe equalize some of it, because I didn’t feel safe,” she said. “… I don’t want to make excuses for bad behavior, but it was a tough shoot. Now, I have a very clear perspective on what went down. I don’t think I had that clarity when we were making the movie. I was in survival mode; I was really scared shitless.”
Theron went on to accuse Fury Road producer Doug Mitchell of excusing Hardy’s actions, saying it was an instance of “a man forgiving another man for really bad behavior, and I didn’t feel safe.”
Fury Road star Nicholas Hoult compared the on-set tensions to being on a vacation while the “adults in the front of the car are arguing.” Theron agreed.
“He’s right, it was like two parents in the front of the car,” she said. “We were either fighting or we were icing each other—I don’t know which one is worse—and they had to deal with it in the back. It was horrible! We should not have done that; we should have been better. I can own up to that.”
Hardy seemed unconvinced that Theron was actually scared of him, but admitted he didn’t have enough “experience” at the time to properly handle the role.
“Charlize is an intense woman. Very intense, actually. In a good way. I mean, look at her in Monster — that’s not somebody walking in the park,” he said. “You don’t just summon up that kind of authenticity without bringing a tremendous wealth of artistic ability,” he went on. “She’s a very serious actor. So, I don’t see why she would ever be intimidated by me or in any way feel frightened. I think that was more bollocks.”
Blood, Sweat and Chrome is available now. The book includes more than 150 interviews with people who were involved in the film, including director George Miller.
