The actor, who won the Max Rockatansky role, reportedly 'gnashed his teeth and spat' at the 'Death on the Nile' star which led the latter to tell filmmaker George Miller that his scene partner 'needed to be Max more than he did.'
- Feb 10, 2022
AceShowbiz - Tom Hardy apparently had an intense casting journey for his leading role in "Mad Max: Fury Road". The "Venom" actor reportedly won his role after spitting at Armie Hammer during the audition.
A new book about the making of the iconic 2015 film by New York Times journalist Kyle Buchanan, titled "Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road", revealed that the actors were both vying for the role of Max, which was previously portrayed by Mel Gibson. In an excerpt of the book, published by Vulture, Kyle wrote that the 44-year-old actor "gnashed his teeth and spat" at Armie when they read together for the role as part of their audition.
"Near the end of the process, Tom emerged as a front-runner alongside Jeremy Renner and Armie Hammer," Kyle penned. After Tom spat at Armie, Kyle said that Armie told George Miller that "Tom needed to be Max more than he did."
Elsewhere in the book, Todd Matthew Grossman, who handled the audition camera during Armie's turn, gushed, "Jeremy and Armie were equally wonderful, but there was something about Tom in the room where it felt like that was Max, without a doubt." Todd added, "He had that kind of suppressed emotional dryness that you'd find in a post-apocalypse and, buried underneath it, disdain for the world. There was this intensity that burned through the lens."
Casting director Ronna Kress also spoke about Tom's performance, saying, "After Tom auditioned, George and I went into another room, and we had a long moment of quiet with each other." Ronna continued, "Then I said to George, 'Is this the person that you can spend nine months in the desert with, telling this story? Is this the person that's right for you?' "
Armie was also interviewed for the upcoming book, saying, "I had the same feeling about Tom that I had when Mel Gibson first walked into the room." The "Call Me by Your Name" star went on saying, "There was a kind of edgy charm, the charisma of animals. You don't know what's going on in their inner depths, and yet they're enormously attractive."
Ultimately, the role went to Tom, who admitted that he "was excited to get the job." The "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" star further explained, "It's such a big fish to land that the seesaw effect, the other side of that, was everybody loves Mel as Max and nobody's gonna want me," before noting, "So it's like being the new boy at school and set up in some way for failure immediately."
A prequel film for "Mad Max: Fury Road", titled "Furiosa", is set for release on June 28, 2023, starring Anya Taylor-Joy.
