A new book chronicling the process of making the movie Mad Max: Fury Road has revealed Tom Hardy and Armie Hammer auditioned side-by-side, with Hardy even spitting on his fellow actor at one stage.
An excerpt of Kyle Buchanan's upcoming book Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, previewed by Variety, gives fans a look behind the scenes at the casting journey.
Director George Miller, who "persevered over two decades of setbacks and production shutdowns to make an Oscar-winning miracle", told Buchanan he had his heart set on the late Heath Ledger to play the title role.
"We lost him, which was such a pity - not for Mad Max, but because he was an exceptional person," Miller said.
Buchanan explained that Hardy came along as a contender for the character late in the game, alongside a couple of other big names.
"Near the end of the process, Hardy emerged as a front-runner alongside Jeremy Renner and Armie Hammer," he wrote.
"Hardy and Hammer even read together as part of their audition, and when Hardy gnashed his teeth and spat at his scene partner, Hammer told Miller that Hardy needed to be Max more than he did."
Todd Matthew Grossman, who was the audition cameraperson, said both Hammer and Hardy were "equally wonderful", but Hardy "felt like Max, without a doubt".
"He had that kind of suppressed emotional dryness that you’d find in a postapocalypse and, buried underneath it, disdain for the world. There was this intensity that burned through the lens."
Elsewhere in the Variety article, Buchanan revealed that Eminem was at one stage considered for the role, while stars like Margot Robbie, Jennifer Lawrence and Rihanna met with the filmmakers to discuss playing one of the five Wives that Furiosa escapes with.
Hammer has reportedly been attending a rehabilitation facility for drug, alochol and sex addictions after making headlines in 2021 when a series of leaked private messages, allegedly sent by the actor, appeared to show him admitting to being a cannibal, discussing rape fantasies and having "slaves".
Hammer condemned the messages as "bullshit" and "a vicious online attack", and went on to deny rape allegations made by a woman known as Effie, who said she was "violently raped" by Hammer over four hours in 2017.
