Tom Hardy Once Shared He Was Attached to 3 More ‘Mad Max’ Movies
Actor Tom Hardy once picked up where Mel Gibson left off by starring in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. But he once revealed there might’ve been more Mad Max sequels in his future.
Tom Hardy on the possibility of ‘Mad Max’ sequels
Hardy had been attached to Mad Max for a number of years before it officially hit theaters. The actor confided that he couldn’t have been more excited to be a part of the franchise. Although he admitted there was a lot of pressure in doing the movie, and inheriting the role that helped make Gibson famous.
“There were many, many actors that would probably be right for Mad Max and there’s many out there who could probably do an exceptional job to portray him. It’s especially a challenge to step in the shoes of such an iconic character. I’m aware that I’m going to take a certain number of casualties when I go in and play him. If I concentrate on that, it’s obviously not going to be the best thing for the project,” Hardy once told Collider.
Hardy also felt Gibson, even in his older age, would’ve been able to reprise his role as Mad Max. But since Hardy was doing the movie, he was determined to help make the movie the best it could be.
“Mel would be perfect for it but, for some reason, he’s not doing it and I am. You can expect the same amount of grit and rawness and authenticity and performance, I hope to deliver. But that’s really the crux of me and George to deliver and all the other actors as the other characters,” Hardy said.
It seemed many considered Hardy a worthy successor to Mad Max given the glowing reviews the actor received. But it was once claimed that Fury Road wouldn’t be the last audiences saw of Hardy’s Max. The report was made in an interview Hardy did with Esquire (via The Guardian) at the time. It was asserted that Hardy was signed on for three more Mad Max movies. But the chances of those sequels hitting theaters all depended on a variety of factors.
“Everything’s based on figures and how things are perceived. Inevitably, it’s a business,” Hardy said.
George Miller recently revealed there was no excuse for Tom Hardy’s behavior on the set of ‘Mad Max Fury Road’
It’s well known that Hardy didn’t have the best time on Mad Max. He was in a heated feud with his co-star Charlize Theron, who confided they butted heads frequently. Things between them became so intense that Theron felt a bit threatened while on set.
“It got to a place where it was kind of out of hand, and there was a sense that maybe sending a woman producer down could maybe equalize some of it, because I didn’t feel safe,” she once told Vanity Fair. “I don’t want to make excuses for bad behavior, but it was a tough shoot. Now, I have a very clear perspective on what went down. I don’t think I had that clarity when we were making the movie. I was in survival mode; I was really scared s***less.”
Not too long ago, Miller revisited Theron’s rivalry with Hardy, revealing that Hardy didn’t even want to leave his trailer because of Theron.
“Tom has a damage to him but also a brilliance that comes with it, and whatever was going on with him at the time, he had to be coaxed out of his trailer,” Miller told The Telegraph. “Whereas Charlize was incredibly disciplined – a dancer by training, which told in the precision of her performance – and always the first one on set.”
But Miller also asserted that things eventually improved between the two actors.
“I’m an optimist, so I saw their behavior as mirroring their characters, where they had to learn to co-operate in order to ensure mutual survival,” Miller added. “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.”
