Mad Max first exploded onto the scene 45 years ago with Mel Gibson in the title role. 1News Australia Correspondent Aziz Al Sa’afin sat down with stars Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy ahead of the release of the new instalment Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Almost half a century after the first film, George Miller’s franchise has influenced countless films such as Waterworld, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and the recent Amazon Prime show Fallout, even coining the term “Mad Maxisms”.
The long-running series has become synonymous with depictions of societal collapse, a phenomenon often described as “scenes out of Mad Max”.
It has also elevated Australasian cinema while spotlighting stars such as Tina Turner, Tom Hardy, and Charlize Theron.
Now, George Miller’s prequel to Fury Road, is set to add Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy to that illustrious list.
Taylor-Joy, following in the footsteps of Charlize Theron, takes on the title role of Furiosa.
Speaking to 1News, she admitted playing a largely non-verbal role was “slightly terrifying.”
“George [Miller] had a very specific way he wanted Furiosa to hold her face throughout the movie and that only really gave me my eyes,” she said.
Her anxiety was heightened by the fact she did not have a driver’s license.
“This is the crazy thing, I think I’m going to end up getting my actual driver’s license and my stunt driver’s license at the same time,” she shared.
“You would automatically get one now,” joked co-star Hemsworth.
Considering one of the main action scenes, code named Stairway to Nowhere and lasting a whopping 15 minutes, took 78 days to film, Taylor-Joy said she had lots of practice.
“I shot stowaway the first day on set and I shot stowaway on my last day on set; it was wild,” she added.
To find his voice for villain Dementus, Hemsworth combined the voice of horse racing announcers with that of his grandfather’s.
“I listened to horse racing commentary from the 70s/80s, ‘it’s coming around the bend!” Then my grandfather had quite a nasality to him which was really fun, ‘hello, good morning, get out of bed, what are you doing,'” he said.
“And then my kids watching seagulls attacking ‘maw maw maw’ and there is something really aggressive and obnoxious about those animals. This character needed to be grating and uncomfortable.”
“I was a big angry Australian kid,” he laughed.
Both Hemsworth and Taylor-Joy said they had not spoken to their predecessors prior to filming as they wanted to “do something unique and fresh.”
“I’ve met Mel Gibson a few times but not to discuss this; it was being inspired by what had come before but the script was an opportunity to do something unexpected,” said Hemsworth.
“I hope Mel isn’t sitting there thinking ‘oh why didn’t you call me Chris, I could have given you some tips’.”
Taylor-Joy added that she felt honoured to be a part of what has now become a global phenomenon.
“I think there’s a certain brand of crazy and determination that attracts someone to this world and so any person that’s ever made a Mad Max movie whether that’s Mel Gibson, or the Fury Road cast and crew, you just a feel a kinship with them because you know you’re forged in the same fire.”
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hits cinema screens on May 23.
