Although Mad Max: Fury Road was a box office hit, earning a whopping $375 million at the box office, it did not do well for the relationships of Tom Hardy. A new book, titled Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, reveals how Hardy frustrated members of the cast and crew by being a “larrikin” all throughout production. Nobody was more annoyed with the James Bond hopeful than Charlize Theron.
An excerpt from the Kyle Buchanan book explained that the film had some early filming times – usually around 8am. (Via Vanity Fair)
A Fury Road camera operator, Mark Goellnicht, explained how Theron regularly arrived on time. He 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 added: “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.”
Goellnicht remembered Theron refused to get out of the War Rig – the film’s enormous real-life truck – and waited for Hardy to appear. She waited hours. When the Venom actor eventually did arrive on set, the two actors exploded at one another.
Goellnicht recalled: “Eleven o’clock. She’s now in the War Rig, sitting there with her makeup on and a full costume for three hours. Tom turns up, and he walks casually across the desert. She jumps out of the War Rig, and she starts swearing her head off at him.”
Theron reportedly screamed across the desert at Hardy: “Fine the f*****g c**t a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew … how disrespectful you are!”
Goellnicht revealed Hardy “charged up” to Theron and yelled: “What did you say to me?”
The camera operator added: “He was quite aggressive. [Theron] really felt threatened, and that was the turning point.”
After this event, Theron announced she wanted “someone as protection” with her at all times.
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Stunt driver for the film Matt Taylor recalled: “You’ve got someone like Tom who’s a larrikin and is late and very method in his performances, just in sheer personality, there was always going to be a clash.
Meanwhile, Tom Clapham, a production runner for Fury Road, added: “Tom was more in his trailer a lot of the time and would come out for the takes – and sometimes not on time, either. You’re like, Come on, it’s midnight and we want to go home.”
Looking back on the experience, there are some things Hardy would change about his time on set.
Hardy said: “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.” He added: “I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”
Mad Max: Fury Road is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video now.
