Mad Max: Fury Road Book Reveals New Details of Explosive Fight Between Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy

While it would go on to become one of the most acclaimed action films of the past decade, bringing Mad Max: Fury Road to life was an endeavor more easily said than done, due to harsh conditions, intense stunts, and mounting tensions between its stars. Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy haven’t made it a secret that there wasn’t much love for one another while filming the project, despite having seemingly buried the hatched in years since, though audiences haven’t entirely known how intense their conflicts were while filming. In the Kyle Buchanan’s new book Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, members of the cast and crew recalled an especially volatile encounter.

“It was like two parents in the front of the car. We were either fighting or we were icing each other — I don’t know which one is worse — and they had to deal with it in the back,” Theron shared in an excerpt from the book, courtesy of Vanity Fair. “It was horrible! We should not have done that; we should have been better. I can own up to that.”

According to multiple sources, Hardy would often show up late to the set when there was a morning shoot, with one particular occasion pushing Theron to the brink of her frustrations.

“I remember vividly the day,” camera operator Mark Goellnicht explained. “The call on set was eight o’clock. Charlize got there right at eight o’clock, sat in the War Rig, knowing that Tom’s never going to be there at eight even though they made a special request for him to be there on time. He was notorious for never being on time in the morning. If the call time was in the morning, forget it — he didn’t show up.”

First assistant camera Ricky Schamburg added, “Whether that was some kind of power play or not, I don’t know, but it felt deliberately provocative. If you ask me, he kind of knew that it was really pissing Charlize off, because she’s professional and she turns up really early.”

Hardy ultimately arrived on set three hours late.

“She jumps out of the War Rig, and she starts swearing her head off at him, saying, ‘Fine the f-cking c-nt a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew,’ and ‘How disrespectful you are!’” Goellnicht recalled. “She was right. Full rant. She screams it out. It’s so loud, it’s so windy — he might’ve heard some of it, but he charged up to her and went, ‘What did you say to me?’”

Goellnicht continued, “He was quite aggressive. She really felt threatened, and that was the turning point.”

Theron was ultimately able to enlist the help of producer Denise Di Novi on set to help keep an eye on the escalating issues between the stars.

“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,” Theron shared. “I kind of put my foot down. [Director] George [Miller] then said, ‘Okay, well, if Denise comes…’ He was open to it and that kind of made me breathe a little bit, because it felt like I would have another woman understanding what I was up against.”

While Theron was an established star at the time of filming, Hardy’s career was on the rise, with the actor admitting that the disparity in their experiences might have been what contributed to those tensions.

“In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways,” Hardy reflected. “The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me… I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”

Theron confessed, “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 sh-tless.”

Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road is out now.

Are you surprised by the details of the altercation? Let us know in the comments below!