Charlize Theron and her costar Tom Hardy clashed while filming 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road.
Journalist Kyle Buchanan’s book Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road details the strained relationship between Theron, 46, and Hardy, 44, which got so bad at one point that Theron requested “protection” from Hardy.
Theron, who played Imperator Furiosa in the film, claimed in the book that her costar was often late to set, including one day when he arrived over three hours after his 8 a.m. call time.
Mark Goellnicht, a camera operator on Mad Max: Fury Road said that Theron arrived at set on time and remained ready to shoot until Hardy showed up.
“She was really going to make a point,” he said. “She didn’t go to the bathroom, didn’t do anything. She just sat in the War Rig.”
Upon Hardy’s arrival, Theron said to him, “How disrespectful are you?” before suggesting the producers should “fine the f— c— a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew”.
Hardy then allegedly charged up to Theron, asking her, “What did you say to me?”
Goellnicht said in the book that Hardy seemed “quite aggressive” and that Theron “really felt threatened.” He added, “That was the turning point, because then she said, ‘I want someone as protection.’ ”
Charlize Theron detailed the experience in the book, saying, “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 added, “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——-.”
Hardy admitted in the book that he was “in over my head in many ways” while filming the movie.
“The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me,” he said.
“That’s something that can’t be faked. I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”
