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This excerpt originally ran in February.
We are republishing it in honor ofVultures Sequels Week.
Ive always been fascinated by the process of movie casting.
Near the end of that process, Miller even set up a meeting with a pop icon.
But the trickiest thing to cast was the two leads.
Josh Helman (Slit):Every man and their dog was auditioning forFury Road.
Joel Kinnaman didnt even have an American agent at the time; he was just out of Scandinavia.
Eric Bana was an Australian actor that was considered.
In the general public, there was a big push for Sam Worthington.
Ronna Kress:The whole process of casting Max took close to a year.
George Miller (director):The person who was foremost in my mind was Heath.
We lost him, which was such a pity not forMad Maxbut because he was an exceptional person.
He had a very powerful sense of inquiry and was amazingly humble.
Petrina Hull:That is true!
She had no reservations about saying what a wonderful talent he is.
Mark Sexton:Im kind of glad it didnt happen.
Whole different bent there.
George Miller:All charisma is paradoxical.
I think you might feel that on the screen, and Tom had that quality.
I saw it in the work hed done inBronson.
Tom Hardy (Max):Nobody paid any attention career-wise to me in America untilBronson.
It gave me a calling card and passage into America, where Id always wanted to work.
Petrina Hull:That film made a really strong impression on George.
It felt like an edgy choice.
Every now and again, hell surprise you and do something a bit left field.
I was like, What?
What are you saying?
Mick was like, Hes not coming, and I was like, Hes coming.
I said, Whatever I have to do to tailor the experience to him, I dont care.
Even if it means he just has a cup of coffee with George,hes coming to that room.
The next day, he showed up.
Near the end of the process, Hardy emerged as a front-runner alongside Jeremy Renner and Armie Hammer.
There was this intensity that burned through the lens.
Is this the person thats right for you?
You dont know whats going on in their inner depths, and yet theyre enormously attractive.
Tom Hardy:I was excited to get the job.
So its like being the new boy at school and set up in some way for failure immediately.
Ronna Kress:There were a lot of women who read for Furiosa.
Jessica Chastain read for me, and this is when she was starting out.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ruth Negga, some French actresses read for it.
We had really thrown a net around the world and narrowed it down to a handful of people.
Gal Gadot read for it, and she gave an incredible audition.
Voeten (producer and first assistant director):That was even before she was inFast & Furious.
Gal Gadot (actress):I was the runner-up forMad Maxwith Charlize.
Ronna Kress:Warner Bros. had thatMad Maxaudition for years.
Thats all Im saying!
That was kind of where I was at.
So I had a meeting at CAA with Bryan Lourd, who represents George.
Charlize Theron:Listen, I grew up on all theMad Maxmovies.
Theyre very popular in South Africa.
I was raised on a farm in a country where I was kind of surrounded by violence.
Watching the violence ofMad Maxfelt very visceral, very real, and very connected to my environment.
I wasnt scared by it.
I remember kind of being in awe of it.
George came to L.A.; I had a meeting with him at lunch.
I really, really want to be part of this movie, and he said okay.
Voeten:He cast her there, over that lunch.
Charlize Theron:I couldnt believe it.
I literally couldnt believe it.
George Miller:I knew behind that elegant facade, there was some real grit to that person.
Even as shes sitting somewhere having lunch, you understand that.
And you see it in her work.
Ronna Kress:Charlize was the only person we cast who did not audition.
You just couldnt beat it.
It was the perfect moment for her and the perfect piece of casting in that role.
Lora Kennedy:Charlize is so physically powerful: Shes tall, shes lean, shes gorgeous.
Shes one of the few people that when you see her in person, she doesnt disappoint.
This isnt for a weak actress, thats for sure.
Once we saw them, we just knew.
It was an indescribable, perfect thing.
And the female stars have always had a male quality, which is to be very direct.
Ronna Kress:After the video call, Tom and Charlize and I were in the parking lot.
Charlize ran up: Oh my God, Ronna, are you okay?
I said, Im fine.
I was just staring at you guys!
Thats how intense it was.
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