George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga returned to the wasteland and the grungy dystopian environment fans loved in 2015’s Fury Road. Alyla Browne and Anya Taylor-Joy took over the role of young Furiosa from Charlize Theron and the film explores her origins and adventures over 15-20 years.
As it is a prequel, many characters from Fury Road return including Immortan Joe and Nathen Jones’ Rictus. One of the scenes involving the latter and young Furiosa was particularly creepy in the film (deliberately). It seems some fans have personally expressed their anger to Jones for doing the scene. He recently addressed how audiences should separate reel characters from real life.
Nathan Jones Addresses People Concerned With One Particular Scene in Furiosa
Nathan Jones returned as Rictus in George Miller’s latest film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The film is a prequel to Fury Road, chronicling the life of Imperator Furiosa from her childhood to a grown woman over 15-20 years (told through five chapters). Alyla Brown played a childhood version of Furiosa for a majority of the film and is taken over by Anya Taylor-Joy at the halfway point.
A lot of lore and personal history is built up in the first half of the film, including Furiosa’s birthplace, her mother, and her relationship with Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus. The Citadel becomes a huge part of the story where a lot of important things happen. It is also when a particularly disturbing scene involving Rictus and young Furiosa takes place.
It seems Rictus’ questionable and disgusting behavior in that scene has left some people sickened. Some have even gone on to personally DM Jones and question his agreement to such a vile scene. On Facebook, Jones addressed these queries by saying that he is just doing his job as an actor and one should distinguish the character one plays and the person one is in real life. The actor wrote,
Hi everyone, I’ve noticed a few queries and private messages about my role in Mad Max: Furiosa, particularly regarding a scene with young Furiosa. This is a very sensitive subject, and I want to emphasize that it involves a fictional character. The details can be uncomfortable, and as an actor, my job is to portray a character based on the direction and script provided to me. I appreciate your understanding and support in recognizing the distinction between fiction and reality. Thank you.
The character Rictus is an antagonist and thus having such vile and questionable character traits comes with how he is shown on screen. Instead of expressing their concern, people should be applauding Jones for his commitment and his believable performance that made them sick to their stomachs. He accomplished what the scene required out of him.
Tom Burke Feels His Involvement In Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Was Unreal
Tom Burke was not featured in any of the marketing of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, although his character Praetorian Jack plays an integral role in Furiosa’s evolution in the film. In an interview with Backstage, Burke praised the studio and George Miller for keeping his role a secret in the film and making it a mystery for fans.
The actor further stated that the film’s premiere at Cannes and the reception it got felt very unreal to him as it was a very big thing. He went on to call the whole experience of being called to play a role in the film to be a complete surprise. Burke said,
I love that they’re doing that. Sometimes, you see a trailer and you’ve seen the whole film. I had an email from George…and he was talking about [the film’s premiere at] Cannes and the wide release, and it did suddenly feel very real—because it has felt slightly unreal. But, in a way, the whole job felt slightly unreal.
His charismatic and fascinating performance as Jack became one of the highlights of the film. Jack and Anya-Taylor Joy’s Furiosa take part in some of the film’s best action sequences. Unfortunately, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga has performed badly at the box office and will most likely become a big bomb (via BBC). The film is currently playing in theatres worldwide.
