Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy brought fire into the film industry’s action genre with the 2015 film, Mad Max: Fury Road. The film did so well that critics couldn’t help but list it as one of the best action movies of all time. It even flaunts a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road

Despite the wonderful reception of the film, lead actors Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy did not get along at all during the shoot. In fact, the crew members even recalled the two getting into intense arguments with each other. However, none of this would’ve happened if a certain Avenger succeeded in taking the role of Max Rockatansky, which he almost did.

Tom Hardy Nearly Didn’t Star in Mad Max: Fury Road

Jeremy Renner

Directed by George Miller, the action flick was quick to find a place in the hearts of those who live and breathe the genre and so did the pairing of Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy. In fact, Chicago Sun-Times went ahead to state that Theron and Hardy proved to be “one of the best action duos ever, in one of the best action movies.”

This onscreen chemistry could have ended up biting dust as it turns out, actor Jeremy Renner was up for the role and almost made it to the film. This revelation was made by Zoë Kravitz who plays the role of Toast the Knowing. In The New York Times’ oral history of the film, Kravitz stated,

“I did a chemistry test with Jeremy Renner reading for Max because they hadn’t hired Tom yet.”

It looks like Renner was good enough in the eyes of the casting team to make it to the chemistry test. Apart from him and Hardy, actor Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger) was also a finalist for the lead role. To top it all off, the producer, Doug Mitchell once stated that Uma Thurman was being considered for Theron’s role.

Charlize Theron & Tom Hardy Crossed the Finish Line But at What Cost?

Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy

Of course, Theron and Hardy managed to defeat their respective competitors and took over the lead roles for the film. Unfortunately, the dynamic that critics and fans loved so dearly was only for the camera. Off camera, the two were out to get each other.

Talking to author Kyle Buchanan, Fury Road’s first assistant director, P.J. Voeten stated,

“We weren’t even shooting and there seemed to be this animosity…It was clear that those two people hated each other. They didn’t want to touch each other, they didn’t want to look at each other, they wouldn’t face each other if the camera wasn’t actively rolling.”

Camera operator, Mark Goellnicht recalled an intense fight between Hardy and Theron which happened due to the former being late for the shoot. He stated that Theron showed up on set at exactly eight o’clock, as requested, but Hardy was three hours late. Goellnicht stated that it seemed like the actor knew his actions would frustrate Theron.

When Hardy finally arrived on set, the Atomic Blonde actress couldn’t control her anger. Goellnicht stated,

“She jumps out of the War Rig and she starts swearing her head off at him, saying, ‘Fine the f**king c*nt a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew,’ and, ‘How disrespectful you are!’…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?’ He was quite aggressive. She really felt threatened, and that was the turning point.”

It looks like there wasn’t a lack of action on the set of Fury Road. Later on, both Hardy and Theron reflected on the incidents and seemed quite sorry for how it all went down.