“Mad Max: Fury Road” is one of the best action films of the last decade. But not only is the on-screen action and story incredibly interesting, but over the years, we’ve heard more and more behind-the-scenes tales that make it seem as if the drama behind the camera was almost just as fascinating. And now, almost a decade later, we’re still learning new things about George Miller’s film, like the time Tom Hardy spit on Armie Hammer during an audition.
In a new oral history written up by Vulture, an excerpt from the upcoming book, “Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road,” by Kyle Buchanan, everyone involved with “Mad Max: Fury Road” told stories about the making of the film, including the audition process for the main role, Max. Obviously, we know Tom Hardy would end up with the role, but until now, we had no idea just how he was able to nab it.
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“For Max, we looked at Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Renner, Armie Hammer — and these are the people we didn’t cast,” said casting director Ronna Kress. “Joel Kinnaman didn’t even have an American agent at the time; he was just out of Scandinavia.”
Ultimately, it came down to Renner, Hammer, and Hardy. The report claims that Hardy and Hammer were actually brought in to read opposite each other as part of the audition process. Apparently, during that process, Tom Hardy got so into the wild nature of Max, that he spit in the face of Hammer. The report said, “Hammer told Miller that Hardy needed to be Max more than he did.”
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“I had the same feeling about Tom that I had when Mel Gibson first walked into the room: There was a kind of edgy charm, the charisma of animals,” said Miller. “You don’t know what’s going on in their inner depths, and yet they’re enormously attractive.”
Of course, we also know that the filming process was a bit of a struggle, as Miller, Hardy, and Charlize Theron had their ups and downs. But clearly, when you look at the actors all up for the title role, Tom Hardy seems like the perfect choice and turned in a pretty great performance as the character.