Turns Out Charlize Theron And Tom Hardy Had Major Beef While Filming 'Mad Max'

Just because film stars have the ability to make magic on-screen, doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and roses off-screen. Take it from Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy who actually found themselves in sizzling hot beef while working on the 2015 post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max: Fury Road.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, both Theron and Hardy opened up about their feud and acknowledged where they each went wrong. 

“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,” she said. “That is frightening!”

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“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 wear way, we were functioning like our characters: Everything was about survival.”

Hardy chimed in, admitting that their beef stemmed from the amount of pressure they were under. “I think in hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways,” he said.

“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 I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”

“Because of how much detail we were having to process and how little control one had in each new situation, and how fast the takes were  – tiny snippets of story moments were needed to make the final cut work – we moved fast, and it was at times overwhelming,” Hardy said. “One had to trust that the bigger picture was being held together.”

Clearly, Theron and Hardy’s feud didn’t get in the way of Fury Road’s success. The film grossed over $370M worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Mad Max film. It’s also considered one of the ‘greatest action films of all time’ and one the best films of the 2010s. There’s even been talks of a spinoff.

So, there you have it – maybe a little short-term pain (and fighting) is worth it for the long-term gain.

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