Tom Hardy has always been considered a brilliant actor due to his ability to immerse himself in every role he portrays. From subtly conveying the emotional turbulence in the life of Ivan Locke in Locke to emerging as a formidable adversary of Batman in The Dark Knight Rises with his scary physique and a ring leader-like voice, the actor has always added something valuable to his films.
However, it is in the retelling of Mel Gibson’s Mad Max that he got the proper opportunity to show his talents to lead a high-profile project. His character, Max Rockatansky, a former interceptor lawman dealing with emotional trauma, speaks very little throughout the movie, yet such is Hardy’s intimidating demeanor that he makes his presence known in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Interestingly, his career-defining role was passed around by as many as eight actors and one musician before the Englishman got the final nod.
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Brad Pitt
Before Mad Max: Fury Road saw the light of the day in 2015, director George Miller spent years developing the movie. In the early 2000s, Miller envisioned Brad Pitt as an ideal star to get the refreshing take on the 1979 original off the ground after Mel Gibson was deemed too old to portray the iconic character.
Miller’s former Executive Assistant, James Nicholas even put Pitt’s face on Mel’s Road Warrior body to see what it would look like. [via Kyle Buchanan]
Michael Fassbender
Akin to Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender was also starting to earn plenty of plaudits from critics for his on-screen versatility during the time Miller’s movie went into pre-production. His calm persona would’ve aligned well with the somber emotions Max Rockatansky was dealing with.
However, things didn’t materialize and Fassbender went on to take on the role of Macbeth, another emotionally tortured soul. The titular movie was released in the same year as Fury Road.
Joel Kinnaman
Joel Kinnaman is another actor who has both the physicality and screen presence to go toe-to-toe with Hardy. However, at the time his name emerged in the race to play the rebellious former MFP officer, the Swede was a relatively unknown figure compared to other stars in the race.
It is understood (via The Brag) that Kinnaman didn’t even have an American agent when Miller was looking for his lead.
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner was a serious contender for the part. In fact, he even read for the movie with Zoe Kravitz, who played Toast.
“I did a chemistry test with Jeremy Renner reading for Max because they hadn’t hired Tom yet,” revealed Kravitz (via The New York Times).
Renner didn’t get the part to revolt against tyrant rules. Instead, he continued taking on supervillains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hawkeye.
Armie Hammer
Armie Hammer also emerged as a front-runner for the role. During an audition, which included both Hardy and Hammer in the same room, the former spat at the latter, which might’ve played a big role in him landing the part.
Buchanan, who wrote Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, reported (via Variety):
“Near the end of the process, Hardy emerged as a front-runner alongside Jeremy Renner and Armie Hammer. 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.”
That might just be one of the worst ways to miss out on a role.
Eric Bana
His Australian background, age, and plenty of experience in leading big movies made Eric Bana the closest like-to-like replacement for Gibson. Accordingly, his name did float among the contenders.
However, much like Gibson, Bana’s most prominent roles came in the early 00s, making him a not-so-attractive name to lead a high-profile project by the time things got going for Fury Road.
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Sam Worthington
As far as star power is concerned, Sam Worthington was the most glamorous name on the list during the pre-production stage of Miller’s movie following the historic success of Avatar (2009). On top of that, the fact he is from Down Under made him an ideal fit for the director, who wanted to make Fury Road in an Australian setting and tone.
Despite all these factors as well as his desire to be part of the project, Worthington was disappointingly not even formally approached for the role.
Heath Ledger
In the late 00s, there was only one name Miller had in his mind to lead his movie. Heath Ledger had already established himself as one of the most talented actors of his time and his Australian background only boosted his chances. The filmmaker has also been public about his desire to cast him.
Tragically, Ledger passed away in 2008 after the filming of his most revered role, Joker in The Dark Knight.
Eminem
The wildest contender for Max Rockatansky was neither an Australian nor an established actor.
As per lead storyboard artist Mark Sexton, Grammy-winning rapper Eminem was at one point discussed to take on the role.
“This is something I don’t hear about very much and that George never admits, but I have a very, very, very strong memory of George talking about Eminem for Max,” Sexton said (via IndieWire).
After seeing Eminem in the musical thriller 8 Mile (2002), Miller found his work interesting and thought he had the quality. On top of that, Eminem’s Love the Way You Lie partner Rihanna was also considered to play one of the five Wives that Furiosa escapes with.
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