‘I was in survival mode’
Charlize Theron has spoken about the bad blood between herself and co-star Tom Hardy whilst filming Mad Max: Fury Road.
Despite the huge success of the film, which was loved by critics and audiences alike and won six Oscars following its release in 2015, it seems that all was not well behind the scenes.
Theron’s revelations have been revealed in Kyle Buchanan’s new book, Blood, Sweat, and Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, which was published by Vanity Fair.
In one excerpt the actress, who played Imperator Furiosa, said: “I don’t want to make excuses for bad behaviour, but it was a tough shoot.”
Discussing their interactions, J Houston Yang, editor of production company Open Road Entertainment, said: “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.”
Theron added: “I was in survival mode; I was really scared s***less.”
Tensions reached a peak when Hardy arrived on set three hours late despite apparently knowing that Theron had arrived early.
Speaking about the moment, Mark Goellnicht, the film’s camera operator, recounts how Theron started swearing at the actor, who then “charged up to her” and said “What did you say to me?”
The South African actress had shouted: “Fine the f***ing c*** a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew.”
Goellnicht added: “He might’ve heard some of it, but he charged up to her and went, ‘What did you say to me?’ He was quite aggressive.”
After this flashpoint, Theron was assigned a producer to be by her side at all times because she felt “threatened.”
She said: “It got to a place where it was kind of out of hand. I didn’t feel safe.”
Theron added: “I don’t want to rehash things, but it came out of a really bad moment where things kind of came to blows between me and Tom.”
Hardy has since responded to the claims made in the book, acknowledging that he was “in over [his] head in many ways.”
Theron has also admitted that the two of them “should have been better.”
Director George Miller said that because the film was a story about self-preservation, this mindset developed in both Theron and Hardy.
Theron also thought the same, saying that her and Hardy were “functioning like our characters” and that “everything was about survival.”
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