Charlize Theron And Tom Hardy's Mad Max: Fury Road Set Feud Explained

"Mad Max: Fury Road" is one of the true miracles of filmmaking of the 21st century, and it's mind boggling to imagine how George Miller pulled off such a visual feast in an era where so much blockbuster filmmaking lacks the energy that made "Fury Road" such a totemic film of this era. Director Steven Soderbergh said it best when he said, "I don't understand how they're not still shooting that film, and I don't understand how hundreds of people aren't dead."

To make sure hundreds of people didn't die was Miller's biggest anxiety when making the film, but if you look behind the scenes, you'll find that the most chaotic part of the movie wasn't the Doofwarrior or the polecats, but the explosive on set feud between actors Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.

Both are bonafide movie stars, and when they were set loose in the dusty Namibian desert choking on sand, their relationship quickly exploded. It's obvious that "Fury Road" wasn't an easy job for anyone, but in the film's oral history book, "Blood, Sweat & Chrome," everyone involved in making the film speaks candidly and explains exactly why the feud between Theron and Hardy blew up.

Miller admits up front that Hardy and Theron have wildly different philosophies towards acting. Theron is "incredibly disciplined – a dancer by training" who brought "precision" to her performance and was "always the first one on set." Hardy, on the other hand, "has a damage to him," which Miller says helps him give a brilliant performance at the cost of his general demeanor. Miller, ever the optimist, had hoped their clashing styles might produce sparks that deepen their relationship on screen as they learn to cooperate both on screen and off, but that backfired as Hardy tested Charlize Theron's patience.

The two had very different approaches to shooting their action sequences. Theron was eager to get to work and follow Miller's direction, while Hardy wanted "justification for every bit of choreography, not just in the actual action but in the pre-setup of the action and everything else." This led to palpable tension while filming the very first fight scene between Theron and Hardy, and it only got worse from there, with Theron describing their relationship "like two parents in the front of the car." She elaborated:

"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. It was horrible! We should not have done that; we should have been better. I can own up to that."

But even worse was Hardy's perpetual tardiness. Tom was late to set virtually every day, holding up the rest of the cast and crew late into the night. Some in the crew saw this as a deliberate power play on Hardy's part, which teed up the biggest explosion on set.

There was one fateful day when Theron had enough. The pair was set to shoot a scene in the War Rig at 8 a.m. Theron was on time, knowing that Hardy would be late. After an hour, the crew discussed shooting some footage without Hardy, but Charlize stood her ground, staying put at her mark in full costume and make-up for two more hours until Hardy arrived on set at 11 a.m., at which point Theron unloaded on him, calling his behavior "disrespectful" and demanding he be fined "for every minute that he's held up this crew," along with a plethora of curse words that /Film policy does not allow me to repeat.

Hardy became aggressive, and the relationship between the two totally fractured, with Theron demanding the presence of a female producer to serve as her advocate. Denise Di Novi did fly down to Namibia to mediate, but she wasn't allowed on set because Miller's team was concerned she would try to curtail his creative vision for the film while they were in the most tender, fragile moment.

All three creatives involved have regrets for this spectacle. Theron felt "scared sh**less" and understands why Miller was concerned by Di Novi's presence, while Miller wishes he had been "more mindful" of the difficult situation Theron was in. And even Hardy admits he was "in over [his] head," feeling overwhelmed by the pressure that a more professional performer would have been able to handle.

That's not to say that every single moment on set was chaotic: there was a day when everything seemed to flip on its head, with Hardy and Charlize riding on their bikes together. Hardy's entire demeanor changed and revealed a new softness that took everyone aback, especially Charlize, and changed the tenor of the rest of the production for the better.

While this whole experience did work out in the end, with "Fury Road" standing as the crown jewel of Miller's long and storied career, the director doesn't mince words that there is "no excuse" for this kind of behavior that others in the business think is simply the cost of a great performance.

While filming the follow-up "Furiosa" was far from easy for star Anya Taylor-Joy, at the very least she and co-star Chris Hemsworth were able to avoid the same clashes that marred the creation of "Fury Road."