Mad Max: Fury Road Star Charlize Theron Had One Big Complaint About Her Original Furiosa Look

Earlier this week, folks celebrated the five-year anniversary of one the best films of the 2010s, Mad Max: Fury Road. The movie's star, Charlize Theron, shared some sweet throwback photos from the movies set and much of the cast recently joined director George Miller and producer Doug Mitchell in an in-depth The New York Times interview about making the movie. They shared a lot of behind-the-scenes information, including opening up about clashes they had on set and revealing who almost played the roles of Max and Furiosa. Theron also talked about the original look for her character, Furiosa, and how she convinced Miller to change it.

"At first, Furiosa was this very ethereal character, with long hair and some African mud art on her face. It was a different costume designer back then, before Jenny Beavan, and the costume felt a little more Barbarella-y. I worried about it," Theron shared. "George was really incredible in just hearing me out. I called him and said, 'I don't know how she's getting by in the mechanics' room with all this hair. I think we need to shave my head, and she needs to be a more androgynous, grounded character.' You know, he trusted me so much that it kind of makes me emotional."

Theron and Tom Hardy (Max) went on to discuss what it was like stepping into an already-established franchise. "In retrospect, I didn't have enough empathy to really, truly understand what he must have felt like to step into Mel Gibson's shoes," Theron explained. "That is frightening! And I think because of my own fear, we were putting up walls to protect ourselves instead of saying to each other, 'This is scary for you, and it's scary for me, too. Let's be nice to each other.' In a weird way, we were functioning like our characters: Everything was about survival."

Hardy echoed those comments, while also noting that his age has made him only more interested in reviving the character. "I think in hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways," he admitted. "The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced, partner in me. 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."

You can read the full New York Times article here.