George Miller recounted the off-screen feud between Mad Max: Fury Road actors, Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy.

Charlize Theron is known for her intense dedication, which is well reflected in her projects. Being a familiar face in the action genre, she has impressed audiences with her action projects like Mad Max: Fury Road where she portrayed Imperator Furiosa, a fierce warrior who rebels against ruler Immortan Joe to rescue a group of women he has enslaved. 

George Miller Reflects on Charlize Theron’s Dedication in Mad Max: Fury Road

George Miller, who has helmed all Mad Max movies, is bringing yet another interesting project to the saga. Titled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the new movie is set on Charlize Theron‘s Imperator Furiosa character, with Anya Taylor-Joy portraying its younger version. 

The movie serves as a prequel to the former’s Mad Max: Fury Road, which is another reason why the film director recounted his time in the 2015 movie.

He recalled a time when the Monster actress warned him about her dislike for dust, which was an issue as they were shooting in the desert. However, she was up for the challenge as he told The Telegraph, 

“But she said, ‘No, I’m telling you because I can use it.’ And then every morning after getting into her costume and make-up, she’d come outside and roll around in the dirt.”

While things looked easy at the start, it was far from reality as the actress was completely different from her co-star, Tom Hardy. Talking about the Atomic Blonde actress, Miller touched on her punctuality, which stemmed from years of discipline from her dancing era.

“Whereas Charlize was incredibly disciplined – a dancer by training, which told in the precision of her performance – and always the first one on set.”

Her dedication to her craft led to an infamous feud with her co-star whose lateness was the prime issue that she didn’t tolerate. 

Tom Hardy’s Lateness Could Have Contributed to His Feud With Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road

Charlize Theron with Tom Hardy in a still from Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Hardy and Theron’s off-screen feud originated from their different approaches to acting. While the actress took a serious approach to her work, Hardy’s lateness seemingly ticked her off, which made it difficult for them to be with one another on-set. 

The film director commented on Hardy’s nature while reflecting on the infamous feud between the MCU actress and the Venom actor. He added that the lead stars “were just two very different performers.” He highlighted Hardy’s complex nature that “has a damage to him but also a brilliance that comes with it.”

Back then, the duo “hated” each other, as Open Road Entertainment editor J. Houston Yang noted via Vanity Fair. He shared, 

“It was clear that those two people hated each other. They didn’t want to touch each other, they didn’t want to look at each other, they wouldn’t face each other if the camera wasn’t actively rolling.”

However, things started to calm down after the production started as the director revealed to The Telegraph that they eventually decided to cooperate for their collaboration. 

“I’m an optimist, so I saw their behavior as mirroring their characters, where they had to learn to cooperate 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.”

Despite the off-screen issues, they ended up delivering impeccable performances with the movie grossing over $369.8 million worldwide via The Numbers. The movie also stars Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz, and Abbey Lee. 

Mad Max: Fury Road is available on Max.