Some movies are synonymous with difficult times on set, even acclaimed projects like The Shining. George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road is definitely on that list, despite being regarded as one of the best action movies ever. This is largely due to the infamous feud between stars Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy. Tensions were high on set throughout filming, but reportedly exploded one day when Hardy showed up way late.
While Mad Max: Fury Road was an Oscar-winning hit upon its release, those who were filming in the desert for months weren’t always sure of this success. Vanity Fair recently interviewed the cast and crew about the feud between Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy, which reached its breaking point when the Venom actor was three hours late to a day of shooting. Camera operator Mark Goellnicht recalled the moment things exploded, saying:
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, saying, ‘Fine the fucking cunt a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew,’ and ‘How disrespectful you are!’ 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 up and went, ‘What did you say to me?’
Wowza. That definitely seems like an awkward day at work, for everyone involved. It’s no wonder that there have been so many stories from the set of Mad Max: Fury Road. This type of verbal confrontation would be the talk of any job.
Mark Goellnicht was just one of the many Mad Max: Fury Road contributors who recounted the Charlize Theron/Tom Hardy drama for Vanity Fair. This includes both of the actors themselves, who have since been able to reflect on that time and admit their personal fault. But that didn’t make the situation any less tense at the moment.
Clearly Charlize Theron was fed up at that point, reportedly dropping a C-Bomb when confronting Tom Hardy about his behavior on set. That particular four-letter word wasn’t appreciated by Hardy, who seemingly got in her face at the time. As Mark Goellnicht went on to recall:
He was quite aggressive. She really felt threatened, and that was the turning point, because then she said, ‘I want someone as protection.’ She then had a producer that was assigned to be with her all the time.
From there Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy’s tension continued for most of the filming, although eventually they were able to find some common ground. And in the years since, they’ve both been able to be objective about how things got to such a boiling point. Luckily it sounds like there’s no hard feelings nowadays between the pair of acclaimed actors.
The Mad Max franchise will continue with the Furiosa prequel starring Anya Taylor-Joy. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
