14 DAY TRIAL // On May 15, British actor Tom Hardy is making his big screen debut as headliner of one of Warner Bros.’ most daring (and expensive) releases of recent years, the highly anticipated and oft-delayed “Mad Max” reboot, “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
Hardy has been around for many years and he’s more than made an impression with fans and the critics, thanks to solid performances in both studio and indie films. However, this will be his first big budget release as a lead. Add to that the fact that he’s also taking over from Mel Gibson in a role that is best described as “iconic,” and you can understand why he may feel a bit fearful about it.
Tom Hardy and Mel Gibson
This month’s issue of Details magazine is dedicated to the promotion of “Fury Road,” which also stars Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult, and sees George Miller return at the helm (he also directed the Gibson original films).
Getting the job was every boy’s dream come true, Hardy tells the publication. That isn’t to say that he was nervous about “taking over” from Gibson: he doesn’t see it that way, insisting that this new Miller film is a different kind of beast than the original trilogy, but he’s been around the block enough time to know that this is how people would spin the story.
When he met Mel Gibson for the first time it was right after he’d landed the Mad Max role. He went over to the famous actor and director, he recalls, and introduced himself: he’s Tommy Hardy, he’s playing Mad Max, but he is not Mad Max.
To him, this distinction was very important because no one will be Max but Gibson. The older actor, on the other hand, was nonplussed, wishing him good luck indifferently. Then they spent the next 2 hours discussing everything else but Hardy’s upcoming movie, he says with a smile.
Tom Hardy’s favorite characters aren’t infallible
It’s not that Hardy wanted approval for the role, having already made up his mind to do it. In his typical fashion that Hollywood folks occasionally find confounding, he just wanted to make one thing clear to Gibson: he would not try to take his place, just to do his job to the best of his ability.
“Tommy” approaches all his work this way, with fear and humbleness. He doesn’t think he’s doing something extraordinary (“it’s not rocket science” or searching for a cancer cure), and he insists there’s no truth to those myths about how he’s harboring some deep, dark secret that makes him one of the most dangerous and intense actors of the younger generation.
He loves to act and he does whatever he can to deliver compelling, convincing characters, even if that means losing himself in the role for months on end. He also loves playing realistic characters. Like Mad Max.
“Mad Max is, like, the coolest superhero that a boy could get. ’Cause there’s no cape, there’s no rubber suit. There’s no flying. Nothing really hurts Batman or Superman. Everything hurts in Mad Max. Remember Indiana Jones when he hated snakes? He was scared,” he says.
“Those kind of heroes, they excite me because they are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. They are fallible. And when they jump, they’re not sure if they’re going to make it to the other side. And then it doesn’t stop. I mean, Mad Max is really just an old man trying to go home,” Hardy continues.
We’ll find out if he ever makes it back on May 15, when the film opens wide. The full Details interview is available at the link: it’s most definitely a must-read for fans, all the more so since he also talks about his on-set feud with Charlize, his son and his notion of celebrity.
